Month: March 2024

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We Are Instruments of Divine Love

“I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”

This quote is by Mother Teresa, a person who gave of herself as an individual and through the charitable organizations she founded that have assisted and continue to assist people experiencing some of life’s most difficult situations, including poverty and end-of-life illness.

There is a simplicity in the image Mother Teresa’s words portray, and yet her words express essential truths.  By being “a little pencil” in God’s hand, she—and, by extension, each of us—has a story to live given to us by our Creator.  That story consists of our Creator’s plan for us, and each day we should endeavor to discern and then to act on what that plan for us is.

Some of the ways to try to discern our Creator’s will are by paying attention to the symbols and stories of our dreams, being watchful of when psychological projection might be happening, noting possible meanings of unexpected occurrences, paying attention to intuitive promptings, and praying for God’s help as we make decisions and in all that we do.

Mother Teresa saying God “is sending a love letter to the world” is a reminder of our Creator’s love for us.  And that God works through us to share that love with others.  Love is expressed in many ways.  Some of those ways are by having empathy for others, being patient, acting with integrity, and being generous with our time and our abilities.  Sometimes our love for someone is shown by being assertive when that is what is needed.  There is agape love for people we don’t know as well as the more personal love we have for spouses and partners, our children and grandchildren.

By being open to our Creator working through us, we are instruments of Divine love.  We are part of the “love letter” from our Creator to the world.

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The Secret of Life

“This is the secret of life:  the self lives only by dying, finds its identity (and its happiness) only by self-forgetfulness, self-giving, self-sacrifice, and agape love.”

This quote is by Peter Kreeft who is a professor of philosophy and who has written many books about Christian theology, philosophy, and apologetics.

Kreeft referring to the self dying reminds me of the importance of us decreasing our focus on our ego-based desires and choices.  By doing that, selfishness dies, opening the pathway to giving of ourselves.

We give of ourselves by being generous with our time and our abilities, both of which are gifts from our Creator.  We do this by helping others, volunteering for causes we believe to have value, spending quality time with our children, grandchildren, and others, and in many other ways.  These are forms of self-sacrifice and agape love, a love that is unconditional, has no expectation of return, and desires the welfare of others.

I have a friend who had a neighbor who she would visit with from time to time.  The neighbor was about 20 years older than my friend and lived alone for several years after her husband passed away.  When the neighbor needed to move to an assisted living residence because of health issues, my friend started visiting her at least once a week and has continued to do that, even though she works full-time and has other obligations.  They talk about various things and sometimes my friend reads to her.  This is an example of self-giving, not expecting anything in return, and choosing to share one’s free time.

I have a coworker who volunteers at a food shelf regularly.  He helps people he doesn’t know to have sufficient food for themselves and their families.  In this way, he too gives of his abilities and time, not thinking of his needs but instead choosing to make the needs of others a priority.

There are many examples of people giving of themselves, sharing the gifts given to them by our Creator.  By trying to discern how our Creator wants us to use those gifts and then by doing our best to act on what we have discerned, we not only help others and make our world a better place, we also live more purposeful and meaningful lives.