Elizabeth says to Mary, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Sometimes I ask myself, “what would it look like if I really believed?” Would I do heroic works like Mother Theresa? Would I speak inspiring words like Pope Francis? Would I travel to the Middle East to minister to those driven from family, friends and home by the ravages of war?
Maybe it would look a lot like it does right now, in what seems like a small insignificant corner of the world with nothing special going on. Maybe I am called to love, to the best of my ability, the people God puts in my life. Maybe I am called to minister to the marginalized in my own family and community. Maybe I say as much by how I listen as when I come up with the rare inspiring word. While it is good to aspire to great acts of love, it is also wise to remember Mother Teresa’s words, “there is no such thing as a small act of love.”
—David McNulty serves as Assistant for Operations at the Chicago-Detroit Jesuit Province.