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Job 3: 1-23:
Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.
Job spoke out and said:
Perish the day on which I was born,
the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”
Why did I not perish at birth,
come forth from the womb and expire?
Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,
like babes that have never seen the light?
Wherefore did the knees receive me?
or why did I suck at the breasts?
For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;
had I slept, I should then have been at rest
With kings and counselors of the earth
who built where now there are ruins
Or with princes who had gold
and filled their houses with silver.
There the wicked cease from troubling,
there the weary are at rest.
Why is light given to the toilers,
and life to the bitter in spirit?
They wait for death and it comes not;
they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,
Rejoice in it exultingly,
and are glad when they reach the grave:
Those whose path is hidden from them,
and whom God has hemmed in!
The Word of the Lord.
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At the age of 24, Saint Thérèse lay on her deathbed holding a crucifix.
Five of her final words were: My God, I love you!
That simple gesture of confessing her love for Christ while clinging to a crucifix is key to understanding her spirituality.
Thérèse believed that no action was extraordinary in itself; on the surface, there’s nothing profound about speech, even from one’s deathbed. What is profound is the love behind her words.
Unlike Job in our first reading, who cursed his suffering, even the day of his birth, Thérèse embraced her cross and praised the Lord. Those five simple words – My God, I love you! – were more pleasing to God than a thousand words prayed mindlessly from routine.
Ultimately, it’s not what we say or do, but why we do it that matters.
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Mother Teresa later adopted this same spirituality.
She spent her life clothing and feeding the poor; caring for the sick and the dying; and washing the wounds of lepers.
Ordinary actions that were done with extraordinary love, because she saw Christ behind every beggar, leper, or homeless person she encountered starving on the streets.
What matters is why she did what she did.
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Much of our own day will be filled with routine. What makes all the difference is how much love we put into the hours ahead.
Engage someone in conversation. Take an extra minute to listen. Pray for those you encounter. Be the first to smile. Quickly forgive those who wrong you.
Take those final five words of Thérèse – My God, I love you! – and put them into practice.
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Image credits: (1) Harvest Church of God (2) Heralds of the Gospel Magazine, Therese of Lisieux (3) Pinterest