The little things

Today is the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, a Doctor of the Church. If there is one saint I am most jealous of their way of life, I would say it is the simplicity of St. Therese. As Jesus stated to his disciples two Sundays ago from the Gospel of Mark,  "If anyone wishes to be first, 

he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."

Taking a child, he placed it in the their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,receives not me but the One who sent me."

and then again he brings forth this theme of children yesterday, 

"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neckand he were thrown into the sea."

Jesus wants us to realize how valued innocence is. The Lord wants to take care of us. He wants us to come to Him as little children! Parents love to be needed, and so our Father desires more than anything to have you need Him and want to be with Him. St. Therese realized this, and she lived her life as if she were a child who needed to be cared for, a child who could do very little on her own. How did someone who was so simple become a Doctor of the Church? I think because her Spirituality was so basic that it drove home how we truly are supposed to be in our relationship with God. He wants to be our all in all, but He gives us that choice. Therese chose to follow God not by doing some drastic preaching or not by a super intense lifestyle, but by living every moment for God and as a child does, enjoying all around them and doing all that they know how to do -- love. 

I was going to do an individual blog on innocence, but as I see how well this ties into doing the little things, and with St. Therese of Lisieux's feast day, I think I will just bring some of the innocence into this one. Innocence is so beautiful. When I realize the things I find humorous now versus the things I found humorous when I was 12, the difference is tremendous, and I wish I could go back to the days of innocence.

So why do I (and why should you) have this attraction to innocence? It all goes back to Adam and Eve; they are in perfect bliss, completely taken care of by their Father, and nothing could be better -- but then they eat the fruit and "gain knowledge." So to me, innocence is what we lost when we started to sin. Innocence is the absence of sin. Innocence is the easiest way to Heaven! How can God find fault in a baby? How can God find fault in a toddler? He can't! And the only reason we do is because of sin. 

When I think of the things that most make me smile, I think of my childhood and I think of children. Through innocence I find true joy! And I realize the things that humor me, usually crude humor (to a certain degree), does not bring a true smile to my face and does not satisfy my heart, just my mind. My heart is warmed through true innocence. An example I would like to reminisce upon was the other day at mass when I saw this little boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old, who was altar serving. And as the Eucharistic prayer began and he was kneeling down, I saw him repeating all the words as the priest said them. Then he began to imitate all the things the priest did, holding his hands the same way the priest did. He had no intention of mocking the priest, he was just in awe at him and wanted to be like him. This innocence stunned me and stole my heart. I wished I was 5 again! 

St. Therese was someone who was able to live innocent and pure as a child just by abandoning her will to God's will. By allowing for the Father to be like a human father who guards and protects the innocence of his daughter, his little princess, Therese was able to love in a small way, but that way was in actuality an extraordinary way, and it has led her to be known as a Doctor of the Church. So as St. Therese once said, 

"Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love." 

She became a saint by the little things and by her innocence. Let us love by serving each other, even if it is purely in the smallest of ways.

And although this blog is sort of on St. Therese, I cannot avoid placing a quote from most likely my favorite saint (at least in terms of his wisdom and utmost desire for constant conversion), because it just fit so well into this blog:

Everything in which we poor men have a part – even holiness – is a fabric of small trifles which, depending upon one’s intention, can form a magnificent tapestry of heroism or of degradation, of virtues or of sins.

The epic legends always relate extraordinary adventures, but never fail to mix them with homely details about the hero. – May you always attach great importance to the little things. This is the way!

” - St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #826