“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” (Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta).
Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Know the Word of God. Love the Word of God. Live the Word of God. Speak the Word of God. And the Word of God will make you holy!”
And I have been thinking about the action of the Word of God in making me (and making you too) into INSTRUMENTS of God.
At first when I thought about this – just following the moment of my conversion, which occurred through Grace and no merit of my own – it occurred to me that I was most unworthy of publicly doing anything to assert myself as an instrument of God.
After all, I have a lifetime of sin and misunderstanding behind me, and I knew – with the certainty that is surely inspired by the Divine Wisdom of God – that I have a lifetime of sin and misunderstanding in front of me. In short, I know that despite my greatest (or most humble) ambitions, I will never be a sinless saint. I will be the sort of saint who get let into Heaven ONLY through the MERCY of God. Perhaps that is why I love Saint Faustina so much – for it was her role as Christ’s “Secretary of Mercy” that allowed God’s message of mercy to be known to all the world…
But – upon reflection – and in considering the power of God, it occurs to me that my initial hesitation was nothing short of a temptation. You see, God does not need perfect instruments. He does not ask for perfection… After all, apart from Christ (who is God) and His Blessed Mother, no perfect instrument has ever been.
Instead, what God asks me for – and ask you for too – is for love…
And with wisdom, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
And I have been reflecting on that too. Because all the small things that I do can be of service for my Beloved – cooking a meal and cleaning my home, going to work, and talking to the lady in the shopping centre. All of these very little things can be my opportunity to offer myself as an instrument in service to God.
And how do I know that my stumbling efforts will bear fruit? Well, it is easy – I look to the examples in front of me… I look to Saint Simon Peter…
G K Chesterton said, “When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its cornerstone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward – in a word, a man. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed because they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But the historic Christian Church was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible.”
And I pray for the Grace to be an instrument of my Beloved as Saint Simon Peter was – because as His instrument – I can work HIS GREAT GOOD!
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.