All Saints Day - November 1, 2015

All Saints Day

November 1, 2015

The Little Way to Holiness

 

            Young Theresa Martin was frustrated. She had heard the stories of the great saints – martyrs such as St. Polycarp and St. Agnes; great missionaries like St. Francis Xavier; strong founders of religious communities like St. Clare and St. Francis; powerful reformers who changed the church, such as St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Some of these saints had mystical visions like St. Catherine of Siena, while some spent their lives working with the poor like St. Vincent de Paul.

            But Theresa was not like them. She was just a simple middle-class girl, not a visionary or martyr. What could she do to be holy?

            Her desire for holiness was so unsettling because she could not figure out how she could become a saint. In search for an answer, she started reading the letters of St. Paul in the Bible. St. Paul writes that the Church is like a body – the entire body is made up of many parts. The ear is necessary, but so is the eye. The hand needs the foot, and the foot needs the hand. Theresa was comforted by this, but she still struggled to see her place in this body of the Church!

            Finally, as she continued to read, she was struck by Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13. “Faith, hope, and love remain…but the greatest of these is love.” She realized that the Church had a heart, and that heart was love. So she determined that she would be the heart of love in the center of the church, and do everything for love.

            But that wasn’t always easy. Theresa ended up becoming a nun, and she had plenty of trials with her sisters. One particular sister used to knock her rosary beads on the pew during prayers – this drove Theresa crazy! But Theresa patiently endured it out of love. Another sister used to purposely splash water on her as they did the laundry together, just to get on Theresa’s nerves. But once again, she bore it all with a smile and forgiveness. A different nun had a difficult personality, and was always grumpy and negative to everyone. Theresa made an extra effort to befriend that nun, even though she found that it cost her.

            These small acts of love were not earth-shattering. They wouldn’t make the front page of the newspaper. But they were real, they were genuine, and they are a simple path to holiness. Theresa called it her “Little Way” – the little way to get to Heaven!

            Let’s be real – most of us here will not have as dramatic of a life as some of the saints we hear about. In Stamford in 2015, there is little chance that we will be a martyr, and most of us are not called by God to be a missionary to a far-off land. But you and I ARE created to become saints – and with God’s grace, we can become a saint through the Little Way.

            The Little Way simply means that every action we do throughout the day can be done out of love for God. Things like doing the dishes, playing sports, driving our car, and talking to a friend can all become steps on the pathway to sanctity when we do them to the best of our ability and motivated by a love for God. It’s very simple – just begin every action with the intention of praising and loving God – and you will become a saint in no time!

            I love how the Australian Catholic writer Matthew Kelly describes holiness. He says that holiness is “becoming the best version of yourself.” Holiness does not mean that you have to become St. Padre Pio. You can’t become him…that particular path has already been walked! Instead, you should become a better version of yourself – your life, lived for Christ. That’s the message of the Little Way.

            I remember making a real mistake about this when I was just starting off on my spiritual journey. I had given my life to the Lord when I was 16, and during freshman year of college I was praying one day about how to be holy. I thought to myself that a truly holy person is humble. And a humble person never draws attention to himself. So that day I decided that to be humble and holy, I would say as little as possible.

            Right after my prayer time, I went up to the football field, where some of my friends were playing in a football game. I was watching from the sidelines when my friend Amelie came up to me. She tried to start a conversation with me.

            “Hey, Joe, how’s it going?”

            Remembering my decision, I replied, “Fine.”

            “How were your classes today?”

            “Fine.”

            Long pause. “This is shaping up to be a good game, huh?”

            “Yes.”

            Finally, she just gave up trying to engage me in conversation and said, “Well, you don’t seem very talkative today. I’m leaving.”

            I realized after that exchanged that I was completely taking the wrong direction to holiness! Instead of trying to become someone we’re not, let’s just become who we are – for Christ!

            This means that, through the Little Way of Holiness, every action of our lives can be an opportunity to grow in holiness. All we have to do is have the desire to do everything for love for God, and then do it to the best of our ability. Now, obviously, this means we should avoid sin – we can’t commit a sin for the glory of God! But in every other action – whether it be our work or our recreation, sports or homework, cleaning and eating and sleeping – if we do it all for the glory of God and we do it to the best of our ability, then we will become saints in no time!

            And that Theresa girl? Now she is better known as St. Therese of Lisieux, a saint herself – and a doctor of the Church – for her wisdom in articulating the Little Way.