Thérèse in July 1896
With some advice from a friend and finding a store with the right part, I was able today to fix a leaky faucet in the bathroom. This ordinary home improvement job was a small part of my day but came with a sense of accomplishment for me. That was because I looked at this small job as something big for me to do.
All small tasks can become great accomplishments if we view them as something important. Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker, called it ‘the little way’. “Paper work, cleaning the house, dealing with the innumerable visitors who come all through the day, answering the phone, keeping patience and acting intelligently, which is to find some meaning in all that happens — these things, too, are the works of peace, and often seem like a very little way.” (Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage, December, 1965)
She admired St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. St. Therese lived a hidden life as cloistered Carmelite religious. She died when she was only 24, having lived her life in the convent, doing ordinary chores, since she was 15. It was only after her death and the publication of her memoirs that persons realized the depth of love she did ordinary things each day. She wrote in her autobiography: “Love proves itself by deeds, so how am I to show my love? Great deeds are forbidden me. The only way I can prove my love is by scattering flowers and these flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least actions for love.”
Dorothy Day sought and found great joy in the everyday chores of a house of hospitality, like doing dishes and preparing meals.
I have noticed during the last week a number of persons greeting me on the streets like they knew me. Milwaukee is friendly city where everyone seems to know everyone but these ordinary greetings were extraordinary for me. Maybe it was not the greetings that were special but the way I viewed them.
Ordinary things can be extraordinary when we live ‘the little way’.
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