Be Doers. . . September 09, 2024

Be Doers. . .

I once thought it was “Jiminy Cricket” and later surmised that the voice of my conscience was the result of a Catholic upbringing. More recently I have come to understand that the “message” to always be doing something I have inherited from our national Puritan cultural traditions. St. James, who predates any of us, encouraged the early Christians to “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

And thus, the challenge remains: what exactly should I be doing? And how do I keep from deceiving myself? It seems to me that it is the combination of hearing and doing that addresses that question. It matters that I not only physically hear the word, or read the word, or listen to the word read to me, but that I have to digest it; to make it a part of me; to allow it to take space in my heart where God’s love will name the actions to be taken.

Recently, I spoke to a longtime family friend in his mid-90’s, who took to heart Michelle Obama’s DNC challenge to “Do Something” to support a campaign during the national election process. He decided that he would contact two people and he would ask each of them if they were going to vote for _____. If the answer was YES, he charged them to contact two more people and to ask the same question. If the answer was NO, he would simply move on. He asked me the question and I now have two people to contact. My friend gave Michelle’s challenge a chance to ruminate in his heart where he was able to determine what he could do in spite of physical and/or other limitations. And then he did it!

Does the Word of God resonate as effectively in my heart? What am I being asked to do? Given my personal situation, what and how much can I really do and what can I commit to do that I can sustain? As I pondered these questions, I remembered this advice, the 10thLegacy of St. Angela Merici:

The most direct path that leads us to God is undoubtedly that of the Works of Mercy.

Clearly stated in the Gospel of Matthew 25, the Works of Mercy direct us to action:

Feed the Hungry Give Drink to the Thirsty Clothe the Naked

Visit the Sick and Imprisoned Shelter the Homeless People Bury the Dead

The more I thought about these works, the more I realized that these are all opportunities to DO SOMETHING that are present in my daily life. I don’t need to be nagged by my “chatty” conscience. I don’t have to go searching for what to DO. I only have to respond with an open and loving heart to the needs that present themselves each day. Visiting a sick or elderly friend, attending a wake and/or funeral and burial, writing notes, sending birthday cards to prisoners, offering sympathy and prayers of support, sharing my thoughts in an email, making a phone call to someone who might be lonely, confined, out of sorts, or simply neglected are all simple everyday ways to DO SOMETHING. These Works of Mercy may be the most direct path to God; but more immediately, they bring God’s love to God’s People on this earth.

Sister Anne Marie Diederich