No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. // John 10:18
A lot of cleaning. That’s what I saw in nearly every frame of the documentary. The Missionaries of Charity cleaning everything and everyone, from toilets to kitchens to frail and newborn bodies. Their famous threadbare saris wrapped and tied in such a way so as to be able to get their hands dirty for whatever Jesus in His distressing disguise might need.
Tears of gratitude slowly spilled down my cheeks. This is what it means to be holy, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. As the movie rolled on, something like wonder took deep hold. I began to recognize my own life—the potential for my own gift of love—laid out before me on the screen.
Because do you know what I have to do everyday? Clean. Every day I make my bed and take out the trash and wipe the sink and tidy, tidy, tidy. When united with the love of Jesus, my life and duties as a single woman can make me a missionary of charity.
My best friend, too, lives a life of radical service and self-gift. She loves and feeds and clothes her seven children day after day, night upon night, year after long year, pouring out her life as a libation. Indeed every mother is a missionary of charity, caring for the poor, hungry, and naked in her home.
For years I’ve carried the mental load of bills and budgets, appointments and errands as a heavy yoke made more unbearable by resentment over my lack of help or hope of reprieve. It’s a temptation we all face when our tasks pile up like endless laundry.
But as I studied those beautiful sisters, something like the grace of their yes was infused into me. A conviction: I want to live a life of love which is a life of service. I want to lay down my life on my own, to be a gift even as I do the dishes.
This is the secret of sanctity: your life is a gift.
Give it fully, give it lavishly, give it to Jesus right where you are, today and every day.
Beth Davis is a lover of Jesus, a retired youth minister, the Director of Formation for Blessed is She. She is passionate about teaching women how to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus in prayer through writing, speaking, and mentorship. Her favorite things include being the favorite aunt to her five niece and nephews, making friends everywhere she goes, and whatever book she’s currently reading.
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