There was a large painted mural of the Saints behind the altar. It stretched from floor to ceiling. The holy martyrs, priests, sisters, and lay people who had been crowned with glory gazed up at the Resurrected Jesus. But as I knelt with my rosary beads in hand, I noticed some of them gazing outwardly. In the corner of the mural was Saint Mother Teresa, her deep, dark eyes painted beautifully.
As I looked intently at Saint Mother Teresa, I reflected on an ache in my soul that began at the start of the new year. It was a good ache though. A longing for a deeper relationship with Jesus. A desire that burned within me to live out my faith in a more radical way. I felt the gentle whisper of the Lord calling me to enter into something new. The words of the prophet Isaiah rang joyfully in my ears: “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:18-19)
In that prayerful moment, I felt a new and great piercing in my heart. Interiorly, it was as if I heard Saint Mother Teresa say, “Be a missionary of love. This is your call within a call.”
Simple Acts of Prayer
That powerful encounter in Mass that day brought forth a zeal I had never felt before. Over the years, during my prayer, Jesus would bring me to a vast garden overgrown with weeds. We worked, pruning and cutting away. Healing. Restoring. Growing. Sometimes the soil looked parched and cracked, but Jesus was still there, drops of water flowing from His wounded hands and side. The work was spiritually tiring, and at times I wanted to go somewhere else. But the Lord would smile lovingly and invite me to continue.
That day at Mass we stepped out of the garden into a new place. A vineyard.
As we drove home from Mass that day, while my eight children loudly sang, talked, and argued in the back of our old van, I wondered how to live this out. Many grand ideas came to mind. Ministries? Outreach? Where should we start, Lord? The answer that came was much simpler: Brushing your teeth is a prayer. At first, I didn’t understand what that meant, and I was reminded of the disciples' pure and utter confusion at times when Jesus instructed them. Brushing my teeth, Lord? How could such a mundane task make me a missionary of love? And the answer that came within my heart was quite beautiful: In order to love deeply, everything must become prayer, even the simplest act.
Intimacy is Offering Everything
Each night while my children and I brushed our teeth, crowded around our bathroom sink, the smaller children squeezed out too much toothpaste, while toddlers squirmed as I tried to help them do a thorough job. Nothing changed in the physical aspects of the task at hand, but slowly a rushed bedtime routine transformed to a time of profound prayer. It was still as chaotic and messy as ever. But we learned to be recollected to Jesus within it. It was a movement of our hearts. Between mouthfuls of toothpaste, our little ones would pray, “Jesus, may I bless others with my words.” Sometimes as I brushed their teeth or my own, I would pray to never gossip, pray to praise the Lord in all things, pray to speak truth, pray to the Holy Spirit that the same tongue of fire that fell upon the Apostles would fall upon our family.
Brushing teeth seems insignificant. How could something so regular matter in the spiritual life? But it does. It all matters. These little things are gifts from the Lord. He desires our hearts in all we do. Whether we are scrubbing our fridge, washing our face, taking a walk, or sipping a glass of water, we are invited into something greater. Growing in intimacy with the Lord is fostered by the simplest acts. Each moment of the day, each task of the day, everything we do can be sanctified. This is good news for times when we feel spiritually dry because we can be assured that Christ is with us.
All for the Kingdom
When we are in a time of spiritual dryness and exhaustion, we may feel alone but we are not. We may understand this on an intellectual level, but we do not allow the truth of it to truly penetrate our hearts. In these moments of spiritual dryness, our everyday acts are invitations to love. Think of all the things you do in a day, and contemplate how the Lord is speaking to you in those moments. They don’t have to be grand, my dear sister. They are in fact already greater than you can imagine when we do them for the Kingdom. They are part of what will make us Saints. May the eyes of our hearts see His presence, everywhere, always. May the love of Christ pierce our hearts in these everyday moments, as He accompanies us throughout the day.
Think of those everyday tasks that are a real drag: standing in the cold at the gas station pumping gas; pulling the wadded-up, dirty, wet sock right side out; cleaning the gooey, matted hair out of the drain catcher in the tub; listening to five screaming children at once. We should try to put extra love into these [tasks] especially” (Servant of God Ruth Pakaluk, The Appalling Strangeness of the Mercy of God: the Story of Ruth Pakaluk, Convert, Mother, Pro-Life Activist).
Leana Bowler is a wife and mother of five little ones. She is a Holy Rosary enthusiast with deep devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Her love for the message of Divine Mercy led her to become a Marian Missionary of Divine Mercy. She enjoys the miracles of family life, strong coffee, and encountering others on this journey to sainthood. She was a contributing author to And Hay Became Holy and Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women.
Be a Woman of the Word
