The Small Stuff Matters, Too
“I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God.” ~ St. Dominic Savio
When I was young, the Franciscan Sisters were at St. Mary’s Grade School in Griffith. They used to teach us to make our morning offering. Each day, we were instructed, should begin with a firm intention to dedicate everything that we thought, said, or did to God. I always had a hard time wrapping my brain around that concept.
Why would God care about how I ate my morning cereal? Why would it matter to God that I dedicated the brushing of my teeth to Him? Why would it make a difference that I dedicated my walk to school to God? Would these acts change the world? I mean, really? Would they?
Those were the questions that swirled around that young mind of mine. I have to be honest and admit that I did not find the answers to those questions until I was older and, by that time, many of the things that I had dedicated on a daily basis had already become habit.
Ah. That’s the ticket. Habit! Dominic Savio, I believe, was on to the very thing that prompted the Sisters to teach us about our morning offering. If we attempted to give every thought, every word, and every deed to God, we would be doing two very important things. First of all, we would be focusing our efforts through the prism of the Lord. Second, we would be developing habits, good habits, that would lead us through our days.
It is very important to have good habits upon which to lean. Some days go rather smoothly for us. On those days, it is easy to keep faithful. Other days can be extremely difficult. They could test us and tempt us to drift from God. However, if we have already developed the good habit to be faithful, we will be able to defeat temptation in its very tracks.
We do not have to do huge stuff. As a matter of fact, in the grand scheme of things, everything that we do is small stuff when viewed against the vastness and majesty of God. But if our small stuff is kept faithful, we can make huge changes in our lives and in the lives of those around us. Because, in perfecting the little things in our lives, we can be an inspiration to others who might be having problems getting started in the life of faith themselves.
Do the smallest things in your lives with grace and humility and make a big impact on the world around you today.
FAITH ACTION: Encourage those around you today who feel that make very little impact in the lives of others. Let them know that everything they do — great and small — matters.
There will be a Penance Service at 7:00 p.m. this evening.
This will be your last chance to go to confession before Easter.