It's the Little Things That Matter

Sr. Bettina Tobin is one of the sisters
who is sewing masks for the
community and its employees.

The other day the Mount Communications Committee had a meeting to discuss articles for the next issue of our magazine, Threshold. Sr. Barbara Ann Mayer suggested that we include a feature called “It’s the Little Things That Matter.” One effect of the pandemic is that every small act of kindness is magnified—for example, Sr. Mary Teresa Morris has been knitting ear guards for people who wear masks, Sr. Maria Heppler occasionally puts a piece of candy in our mailboxes, and on May Day, nurse Dorothy Herring came in on her day off to bring individual bouquets of flowers to the sisters in Dooley Center.

Sometimes we have a tendency to discount our daily tasks and thoughtful gestures because they don’t seem that important. However, as poet Gary Snyder says, “Changing the filter, wiping noses, going to meetings, picking up around the house, washing dishes, checking the dip stick, don’t let yourself think these are distracting you from your more serious pursuits.” Caring for others is perhaps the most serious pursuit we can undertake, as Jesus affirmed when he said, “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:17).

Indeed, as Danusha Laméris observes in her poem Small Kindnesses, it is our thoughtful words and acts that create a dwelling space for God among us:

What if they are the true dwelling of the holy, these

fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,

have my seat,” “Go ahead—you first,” “I like your hat.”

Creating a dwelling place of the holy—what can be a more serious (and joyful) pursuit than that?