Simple Things

St. Therese of Lisieux, whose memorial we observe today has made a mark on contemporary spirituality through her "little way."  She lived nine years as a cloistered Carmelite nun in the Carmel of Lisieux, and yet her Story of a Soul continues to be published and commenters continue to write books applying her message to our lives today.  The perennial appeal touches all of us because it is so accessible, so doable.  We can all wash dishes with love, we can all offer a prayer before or after a conversation with someone...even as we say a quick hello, we can say, "God, bless so and so."  This keeps us conscious of God's presence and intervention in our lives, and is very much part of our Marist Way.  Without leaving the convent, St. Therese is the co-patron of the missions because of her prayers for missionaries and the letters she wrote to them. So simple, so "ordinary", yet so extraordinary when done with love.
In her fatal bout with tuberculosis, she offered her suffering, her sleepless nights, her helplessness for those who were in the mission field, or who were suffering more painfully than she.  We can bear with the frustrations of heavy traffic, the demands placed on us though social media and the push for instant communication that at times seem so overwhelming and too much for us to handle.  A prayer to St. Therese can help us use these ordinary things as a means to grace.  Dear God, heighten my awareness to the blessings I receive from you and can give to others by offering up the simple things of my day as prayers and acts of love.
Bro. Rene