St Therese, The Little Flower
People say, “What good can one person do? What is the sense of our small effort?” They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time. We can be responsible only for the one action of the present moment. But we can beg for an increase of love in our hearts that will vitalize and transform all our individual actions, and know that God will take them and multiply them, as Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fishes. -Dorothy Day
Today I actually did a little work in the backyard garden. It felt good and helped keep me grounded the rest of the day. In the garden I sense what one person can do. With some consistent work and with the blessing of nature I can Grow Renewable Affordable Food G.R.A.F..
With other bigger issues like war and peace it is not easy to have that feeling and sense that our small effort can make a difference. But as Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker movement reminds us, our small actions with love in our hearts can be the one brick that builds the foundation for real change.
Naturally, as with our work in the garden, we need help. Not from nature this time but from God. We believe that our small efforts can be multiplied, just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and fishes.
A few of us met tonight for dinner and talk on how we can best make a difference to Stop Teaching War at our local Catholic University. Our nonviolent actions may be small but they can, when multiplied, help to “break the silence” on teaching war and more military spending in our society.
Dorothy Day called this way, making a difference by doing small things with great love, the “little way” after the example of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. St. Therese entered the convent early in life, and although she had dreams of being a priest and missionary, never the left the convent and died at a young age. However, she did ordinary things, such as washing dishes, in an extraordinary way and with great love. Now she is the patron saint of missionaries over the world. Her “little way” like Dorothy’s and the Catholic Workers’ daily works of mercy, feeding the poor and giving shelter to the homeless, was multiplied by her great love.
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