Our Culture

People before projects.
Jesus came to save souls and not establish programs or projects. We want to make sure our focus stays on the person in front of us. People have said that Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II gave such attention to the individual that they felt they were the only person in the world. Although their “projects” were certainly very important, they saw Jesus in those before them.
 
Focused towards Jesus, together.
Whatever we do, our eyes should be on Jesus. We are not a community closed-inward on ourselves, nor are we directed toward some earthly destiny. True accompaniment is walking side-by-side toward the Lord.

Owning our littleness.
Without the grace of God, we are  powerless. But this doesn’t mean we’re insignificant. If we admit our need for God (and others), we are freed from self-reliance, and this breaks down barriers between us and Jesus and opens us to his grace.
 
"The closer my union with You, Jesus, the more I love all my sisters without distinction."
St. Thérèse

Learning to hear God’s voice.
We live in a society rife with noise and distractions, hindering our ability to hear God’s voice or give attention to it. And the pressures of modern life, along with choices we make in utilizing our time, can create a lot of static that deafen us to God’s voice. The prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19 doesn’t hear God’s voice in a strong and violent wind, an earthquake, or a fire, but in a gentle whisper. That is why being silent and listening in personal prayer is so vital. And that is why hearing the Word of God at Mass and reading and praying with Scripture can be so fruitful. All help us to hear and distinguish God’s voice from the dissonances of societal voices that vie for our attention and thus for our heart.
 
Trusting that everything is grace.
Those words – everything is grace – from our patroness St. Thérèse, are so simple and so profound, as is the case of much of what she said. Grace doesn’t mean easy, or perfect, or simple, or unchallenging. It means that everything is a blessing from God. If it is something we have prayed for, the blessing is obvious. If it is a misfortune, then the blessing is in the healing, peace, compassion, mercy, understanding, wisdom, discernment, etc. which God may be calling us to on the other side of the misfortune. Grace always calls us to a new place, something new and better, always into a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Dreaming God-sized dreams.
How often do we define ourselves by our limitations rather than our possibilities? Or “it is what it is” rather than “it will be what it can be”? In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So why wouldn’t we want to imagine peace for all? The eradication of poverty, hunger, discrimination, violence, war, and every other form of injustice? A culture of life and love in our homes, community, nation, and world? A God-sized dream imagines Little Flower as a family, not just a parish. A God-sized dream imagines us all as disciples of Jesus, not just ten, or twenty, or thirty, of forty percent of us.
 

"O my God, You have surpassed all my expectations."
St. Thérèse

God first, others second, I am third.
This is not natural for fallen human nature. We naturally are inclined to protect ourselves and those we care about. However, keeping first things first, and following the example set by Jesus, this is the re-orientation that the Lord calls us to in the Gospel. Dismissing crowds and foregoing sleep, Jesus put God first through night vigils in prayer and through his prayer the night before He was crucified: "not My will but Yours be done." He put others second so clearly by seeing the crowds as "sheep without a shepherd," and proceeded to "teach them many things." Even when exhausted, he thought of them. In this flipping of our natural inclination of priorities, we find new and abundant life, as Vatican II so clearly taught: man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself. (Gaudium et Spes, 24)

I let God interrupt my plans.
One of the most difficult sacrifices for us to offer up is our plans, which are based on our expectations and assumptions (which can be barriers to God working in new ways). Jesus came that we would have life to the full, but our plans may be clouding over the fullness. Listening to and following God can involve a lot of “letting go.” This is clear for Joseph and Mary, and for Simon and Andrew and the sons of Zebedee who had to leave their fishing careers to follow Christ. But how do we know it is God interrupting our plans? This is a tough process to pin down, because God tends to surprise us. However, He also doesn't contradict Himself. And lastly, humbly trying to please Him does in fact please Him. So let us keep our eyes and ears open for where and how the Lord is calling us to give ourselves in ways that surprise us.

I have gifts worth giving.
Everybody is gifted. Everybody! Remember the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). Substituting “gifts” for “talents”, whether you have received five gifts, two gifts, or one gift, you have it, and it is of huge value for the kingdom. We thrive when we share our gifts, not keeping them for ourselves like the man who buried his talent in the ground. Here is one gift everyone has: your presence. Showing up is a gift. Caring is a gift. There are the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2-3) which we are strengthened in through the Sacrament of Confirmation. What we traditionally think of as the fruits of the Holy Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – can be thought of as gifts. The spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12 are given by the Holy Spirit to build up the community. Then there are other types of gifts found in Romans 12, which include teaching, giving, and leadership. And in Titus 1:8, we find hospitality. And there are plenty of gifts not found in Scripture; for example, creativity, as expressed in music, art, sculpture, and writing. You may have more of these than you know. And we all benefit when the gifts are shared.
 

"I have never given God anything but love and it is with love He will repay."
St. Thérèse