Today in the One Year Bible, Paul tells us to ALWAYS rejoice in the LORD. He says this in Philippians 2:19-3:4. They way he puts it is: "Whatever happens, rejoice in the Lord."
And don't forget the circumstances of Paul's life when he wrote this. Shipwrecked, beaten, imprisoned, nearly dying multiple times. And he says "Whatever happens..."
Today is the feast day of St Therese of Lisieux, my favorite saint. I realized today that the people who lived with St Therese in her little convent in Lisieux had NO IDEA they were living day in and day out with a saint. In fact, they were so clueless that they weren't sure what they were going to say when she died. Like, what to say for her eulogy or in her obituary. They didn't know how amazing she was. Mostly because she was so full of love for other people that she didn't draw attention to herself. She lived out what Paul is teaching us: she rejoiced in God no matter what happened. She loved her sister nuns no matter how unpleasant they were. She was an embodiment of love.
But think about that. Really let that soak in. These nuns lived every day, ate every meal, next to one of the most amazing saints who ever walked the earth... and didn't have the first clue. How would they have treated her differently if they'd known?
How would you treat your family, your friends, the people you meet on the street... how would you treat them differently if you knew they were saints?
Maybe we should all start treating everyone like that. Because hopefully, one day they will all BE saints.
God, thanks for teaching us to love like St Therese. And to rejoice in everything, whatever happens.
No comments:
Post a Comment