“We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” (Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta).
When I was a little girl, my mother taught me that it was not enough to get a job done when I was asked to do it, I had to go further. My mother taught me that I had to do a job with a smiling face, otherwise I should not bother doing the job at all.
When I was a little girl, I used to think that this was a terribly unfair rule to apply. After all, I very often did not like the job that I was being asked to do and I was finding it very difficult to get my job done. And yet, over time, I came to see what my mother was trying to teach me. After all, nobody wants to see a long and dreary face…
Now, in my work, I work constantly with other people, which means that I am rarely able to have a bad day with a gloomy face and a sad manner. In other words, no matter how ordinary I feel, it is very important that I spend my time smiling away as though I have not a care in the world, because the same rule that my mother taught me in relation to my chores still applies today in relation to my paid work...
And I was thinking about this lesson the other day as I read the words of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who said, “We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do.” You see, the one thing that people always said about Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta was that she had a beautiful smile. In fact, if there were something to remember this Saint for it would be her beautiful old smiling face, crinkled and welcoming beaming such joy into the world... It appeared that this Saint lived the same philosophy as Saint Josemaría, who wrote, “Long face, rough manner, ridiculous appearance, unfriendly attitude. Is that how you hope to inspire others to follow Christ?” And she brought many souls to Christ among those who observed her work with a smile.
And yet, Saint Mother Teresa experienced terrible spiritual dryness over a period of some fifty years… She suffered terrible interior darkness and loneliness, asking often for prayers from those who knew the state of her anguish. And the Saint asked those who cared about her to pray that she would never lose her smiling face, “There is in my soul such deep longing for God – so deep that it is painful – a constant suffering – and yet not wanted by God – empty – no faith – no love – no zeal. Souls hold no attraction – Heaven means nothing – and yet this torturing longing for God. Pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything.”
And as I reflect on the suffering of this Saint which contrasted so marvellously with her smiling face, it occurs to me that there is such joy to be found in Heaven…
For as Saint Augustine said, “My soul is restless until it rests in You…”
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.