Be aware

by Woodeene Koenig-Bricker in Family Faith on the Go St. Thérèse of Lisieux exemplifies an approach to life that focuses not on crossing things off a list, but on being fully present in each moment and making everything we do into a gift of love. We can begin to emulate her — and find some respite from the complexity in our lives — by realizing, as she did, that we can accomplish only so much on our own. When we try to do everything ourselves, we become enmeshed in an ever-increasing workload. But when we allow God to give us guidance, and when we rely on his strength and wisdom, we can see our priorities more clearly and do what really needs to be done each day. “Little Flower” Thérèse’s priorities weren’t exactly the same as ours, since she was a cloistered nun and we live in families. Since her “little way” was rooted in a simple, although not simplistic, life, we can adapt it to our own circumstances: Learn to love your limitations Little things mean a lot Put people first Remember that we are on God’s time St. Thérèse knew that there never will be enough time or energy to do everything. But she also knew that when we place our days into God’s hands, we will have the resources we need to do everything we are supposed to be do. Using her “little way” as our guide, we can coax the raging lion of complications into becoming a purring house cat of simplicity. This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.

“The Gospel speaks across time and space to each human being, each mind, each heart. It asks us what we think about our lives, how we hope, whom we love, and what we live for. If faith is not transforming each heart and life, it is dead.” (From “Go and Make Disciples,” by the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis) This content comes to you from Our Sunday Visitor courtesy of your parish or diocese.