Doing the Impossible
This past week marked the feast day celebrations of two great saints, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Therese of Lisieux. Both of these saints have been briefly mentioned in previous blog posts, but I wanted to highlight one aspect of their contribution to the world, namely “doing the impossible.” I was struck by this quote from St. Francis: "Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” What a bold idea! I would wager that many if not most of us face some challenge in our lives that seems impossible. Maybe it is the daunting task of changing jobs or even careers. Maybe it is a family challenge with a child, a spouse, a sibling, or a parent. Maybe it is a new diagnosis of a threatening illness like cancer. How can I possibly get through this? I don’t have the strength, the path ahead is too steep, there is no way that I can make it through. These are all such common human feelings. We think about the big picture, the whole task that lies in front of us, and it seems insurmountable. This is not about making a “mountain out of a mole hill.” No, these are real, serious, difficult obstacles that we must confront to move forward in our lives.
Why care about these saints? St. Francis lived 800 years ago and St. Therese 125 years ago. Certainly they can’t have much in common with our problems and challenges in today’s complex world. And by the way, isn’t St. Francis the guy that talked to birds and wandered around loving nature? There’s much more to the story than that, my friends. Francis was a wealthy Italian merchant’s son who lived a life of luxury, and sought glory as a knight. He spent a year in a dungeon as a prisoner of war, and eventually became quite disillusioned with his wanton lifestyle. While praying in an abandoned dilapidated church, he had a vision of Jesus, who asked Francis to repair the church that had fallen into ruin. Francis mistakenly thought he was being told to rebuild the actual physical church that he was praying in, which he did with some of his father’s fortune (and without his permission). This ultimately led to a very public falling out with his father, and Francis renounced all of his wealth (even the clothes off his back), and began living as a humble beggar. He had a conversion of heart and after more reflection, Francis realized that he was being called to the bigger task of “repairing” the wider institutional church that had become too worldly and corrupt. The joyful spirit of this humble beggar rapidly drew many men and women to join him. His message of love, faith, simplicity, and brotherhood/sisterhood with his fellow humans and all of creation was infectious and led to a dramatic reform of the church. His inestimable influence persists throughout the world to this day, even for non-religious. "Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
St. Therese of Lisieux grew up in a small town in France. She had a sickly and tragic childhood with the death of her mother when she was only 4 years old. She too had a mystical vision which motivated her to become a nun and join a convent. Her life in the convent was seemingly unremarkable, even to her fellow nuns. She struggled with common difficulties and eventually a prolonged illness of tuberculosis that led to an early death at 24 years old. Quietly, during her short time as a nun and without any formal education or training, she developed a personal spirituality called the Little Way. Understanding that she could never be “great” in the worldly sense, she considered herself the littlest flower in the garden of the Lord that could still show its beauty to the world in small ways. She focused on doing the smallest things with love. At her superior’s request, she recorded her life story and reflections in an autobiography to share with other nuns. Shortly after her death, this book called “Story of a Soul” was published and rapidly became one of the most popular spiritual works around the world. Her simple yet profound spiritual insights have influenced innumerable people, including the missionary work of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. All from a sickly young nun living in an obscure French town with no advanced education. Mother Teresa of Calcutta chose her name Teresa to honor St. Therese, being inspired by the message to “do ordinary things with extraordinary love.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her followers continued this legacy to "start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
What I learn from the lives of these holy people is that we CAN do the impossible. Neither of these saints laid out a 10-year business plan or market-tested their product. They had no experience in the work that they were called by God to do. What they had was simple faith and the courage to try to take the next best step to do what they understood was necessary (sometimes with missteps). God worked out the details. So when we face impossible and insurmountable challenges, or obstacles that we cannot see a way past, we can recall St. Francis and St. Therese (and Mother Teresa) for inspiration. You may not see how you are going to make it through all your cancer treatments, but you can show up for the first one and see how it goes. And then the next one and the next one. You may not believe that there is hope to repair a broken relationship with a friend or family member, but you can say a prayer for them and reach out with a note to let them know that they are on your mind. You may not think you have what it takes to start a new career or job, but you can make the phone call to try to open the door to a new opportunity. “Start by doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” This is how saints are made!
