Will You Begin Today?

8 Jun

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”  ~ Charles Dickens

“I could never be as courageous as Maximilian Kolbe.”  “I could never be as holy as St. Clare.”  “I could never be as brave as St. Joan of Arc.”  Oftentimes, we judge ourselves to be completely incompetent and unworthy.  We look at some of the great saints that we desire to emulate and we say that we fall far short from their holiness so why even try.

If we do that, we have already failed.  We cannot look at the entire package of a saint — or any other person, for that matter — because, in doing so, we forget that the saint had to begin somewhere as well.  That saint made his or her first steps quite falteringly.  The finished product was far from the beginner.

Begin doing.

If we help another person today, if we lighten the burden of another, we are already a success.  If we build upon that initial success by helping another and then another, we are well on our way to holiness and sanctity.  A saint’s life is made up of an incredible number of prayers and good works.  Each built upon the previous prayer or action.  Each helped to make a person more faithful and more charitable.

It can be that way for us.  It just takes a beginning.  Will you begin today?

FAITH ACTION:  If you see someone in need today, don’t ignore the person.  Instead, do your best to help.