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IT’S FEBRUARY, THE MONTH OF LOVE (St. Valentine’s Day) and penance (Lent for Christians), andthisyeartheyappear on the calendar on the same day. As you already know, these two important dates are not meant to last just one day, but they each challenge us to be aware of the importance of love and penance in our daily lives.
My personal memory of Mother Teresa was being present at a talk she gave in Toledo several years ago. I was struck by her small stature and humble mannerandinaweof hermessage.Shedid not ask the audience to come to Calcutta, India and the other placeswheresheand theSistersministered to the very poor and marginalized people in the countries where they worked.
She simply pleaded with us to reach out to our families and our neighbors with great love and by doing so, this great love should reach everyone.
My own attempt at doing what she asked has led me to maintain contact with my family members in MN, WI, TX, and VA as well as dear friends in MA and FL. When 18 of them appeared at my 60th Jubilee last year, I was overwhelmed with the love they brought with them and am eternally grateful for their presence and the sacrifices they made to come to Ohio for this hallmark event in my life. It just occurred to me that Mother Teresa’s words of many years ago really have inspired me to reach out in love to my family and friends all these years and this love also reaches out to others in my life.
I visit one of my classmates (a Sister of St. Francis) in our nursing home here oncampuswhohad serious surgery last year. I try to help her deal with the things in her life that now are challenging to her. I find myself doing things for her that bother me, and she patiently allows me to do them, which is her way of helping me to feel useful and caring.
One of the most important things I do is listen to her when she expresses a need or wants to be part of the conversation. I’m usually the one who does the initial talking, filling her in on what’s happening around here and in my life. I’m trying to do the talking and listening and caring with a spirit of intention, as Jacob Needleman suggests in the quote above, and I will be delighted if it “can become the center of gravity of the work of love.” God knows I need to become better at listening and letting others talk!
May this Valentine’s Day and Lenten season find you doing small things with great love, intentionally listening or speaking to another and consciously attending to those within your family, your neighbors, and those next door and beyond.
Sister Mary Thill is a Sylvania Franciscan Sister. She can be reached at mthill@sistersosf.org. ✲
God has created us so we do small things with great love.
I believe that great love comes or should come from our hearts, should start at home: with my family, my neighbors across the street, and those right next door.
And this love should then reach everyone.
+ Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Simply put, there is nothing in the world, that can take the place of one person intentionally listening or speaking to another. The act of conscious attending to another person— when one once discovers the taste of it and its significance— can become the center of gravity of the work of love.
+ Jacob Needleman
