I love that quote from St. Teresa of Calcutta, “Do small things with great love.” When she speaks of love, she must be thinking of the heart. Do small things with a servant’s heart. Every time I hold a door, say hello, and just recognize someone’s presence, I’m doing something small with a servant’s heart. Because I do many “church stuff” publicly, I need to be reminded that my heart, my love, must be the foundation of the small stuff.
The authors remind us, Jesus says that true understanding comes from following his example. We only know and understand the lessons that we put into practice. The ministry of the mundane, as with all the steps of discipleship, only pays off when we undertake it. They pose these questions:
What obstacles keep you from embracing a servant’s heart?
What are the mundane tasks around you that no one else wants to do that you can do?
Who is an example of someone you know who does not mind serving in mundane ways? How do you think they grew into such maturity?
I look at these three questions and realize I generally have a servant’s heart, but sometimes I resist my servant heart impulses. The resistance is often simply convenience and timing. If I’m busy, I might ignore or not do the mundane. If it’s inconvenient, I might avoid doing the mundane.
In my role, I have a number of people who volunteer to do many things, including the mundane. It’s important that I participate in some of those tasks to ground me with a servant’s heart. There is a person I know who volunteers to make sure all the mundane tasks are done so when we gather for Mass, my role happens much smoother. This servant not only has a humble heart, and truly a servant’s heart. I’m blessed to be inspired by a lot of servant hearts at CCHS.