When things go wrong, that’s the time to be of good cheer. When things go right, of course we are cheerful. When nerves are getting frayed, that’s the time to smile.
Even if you have a bad day at the office, or a very busy day at school, that’s no cause for your courtesy to fail, for your consideration to fail.
I remember a little girl of 4 who was usually very nice to me. Then suddenly one afternoon she was looking at me like a storm cloud. I asked “What’s the matter?” And she replied, “You better watch out: I haven’t had my nap.”
Now imagine grown-ups coming home from work in the evening and telling everyone, “Don’t bother me. I haven’t had my nap.”
It is one of the hallmarks of the spiritually aware man or woman that they will always be cheerful, not because they don’t feel deeply, but because they do feel deeply.
My favorite saint is St. Francis of Assisi. Back in 1983 I visited Assisi, Italy, the beautiful countryside where his ministry began. Ever since then I had read everything associated with this incredible man.
Francis of Assisi inspired thousands of people during his own lifetime, and continues to do so today. Francis was recognized as a powerful teacher, but it was his simple and selfless life that moved hearts. It was his life, and his experience of God, that gave power to his words.
Near the end of his life, while he was making a mountain journey, Francis’s health failed. His companions went into a farmyard to borrow a donkey for him to ride. On hearing for whom it was intended, the peasant came out and asked, “Are you the Brother Francis there is so much said about?” Receiving a nod from one of Francis’s companions, he added, “Then take care that you are as good in reality as they say, for there are many who have confidence in you.” Deeply stirred, Francis kissed the peasant in gratitude for this reminder.
We are not poor friars living in medieval Italy, but the lesson is the same: let us remember that our lives set an example for others. No one can say his life doesn’t matter, her words don’t matter.
Every day I repeat the Prayer of St. Francis: “Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.”
What we are really asking for is the boundless determination to empty ourselves of every state of mind that disrupts relationships – anger, resentment, jealousy, greed, self-will in any form, and to turn our state of mind to joy.
Our first priority is to reform ourselves; without that, how can we expect to help other people reform themselves? It is the living example of a man or woman giving all they have to making love a reality that moves our hearts to follow. We do not need a bumper sticker that says, “You are following an instrument of the Lord.” Our everyday actions of joy and cheerfulness speak for themselves.
By Bob Mueller
Bob Mueller is Bishop of the United Catholic Church. bobmueller.org
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