Greatness Is…
In an address to young people at World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI once declared, “The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.” Although he was speaking to young people, this is a profound truth for everyone; no matter the age. No matter the stage. But, what does this mean? What is greatness? Can I really be great? How can I be great, much less called to greatness when there is nothing around me that feels or seems great? Who am I really? Is it too late to be “great?” Have I (as I have felt at times) wasted too much time for the Lord to use me in any great way?
First, we have to realize that as beautiful as these words are, we can have trouble accepting them, much less applying the words to ourselves. Why? Well, first of all, “GREATNESS” is intimidating; and we don’t really know what that word means - at least not in the truest sense.
The world sells us a twisted version of what “greatness” looks like. And we too often buy it wholesale. Greatness is accolades and accomplishments; its this salary; it’s the big house in the suburban cookie cutter neighborhood; it’s a boat; the car (or maybe a few) we drive; it’s having it all figured out, or at least looking like we do.
Social media makes this worse. Even for those of us sincerely striving to live the faith well, we can fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others. A blessing one-up-manship can develop. I’m more blessed than you! We may not say it explicitly… but we do it! More often probably though, we feel somehow “less blessed” than the happy successful people filling our social feeds. We share only the good things! What makes us look put together. It’s a vicious cycle really. I see friends post how their 6 year old just wrote his own mass setting; learned how to pray the Divine Office in Latin all while completing a dissertation on the complete works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Then, I look at my kids running around like animals while we try to pray the Rosary… and I feel like, wow… I’m not good at this… I must not be a great dad. Rather than rejoicing in my friend’s success… I feel somehow less than.
But in actuality, the greatness is in the intention. Greatness is doing the right thing despite the circumstances. No time with my kids, especially attempting to pray, is wasted.
In Scripture we read of James and John arguing over who is the greater apostle… we still do this. But, greatness is honesty. Greatness is vulnerability. Greatness is transparency. Greatness is authenticity, especially in friendship. Greatness is faithfulness to our vocation and state in life, even in the most mundane day to day activities; even when we don’t really want to, even when we want to give up.
I heard a priest once answer the question, “When did you decide to be a priest?” with a very surprising answer. His response: “This morning. When did you decide to be married?” That’s greatness.
Another way we struggle to understand this call to greatness is that we give into feelings of discouragement in two different ways:
We say to ourselves, “Some day I’ll be a saint. Some day I’ll be good enough.” “Someday I will find my vocation.” As if it’s a destination that we have to earn a ticket for. And we just fumble our way through life and hope we find it along the way. But we cannot really serve the Lord until we do… We can give into despair because of this.
We can say to ourselves, “I’m only human. I’m not perfect and never will be. Why try?” This is a resignation to mediocrity and apathy. It is the lukewarmness that Jesus tells us in the book of Revelation chapter three displeases him so much. It is choosing comfort and ease.
The third way and perhaps, the most difficult way we struggle to understand and accept this call to greatness is a matter of identity. Simply put, we often don’t really know who Christ is well enough to know who we are, and who we are in Him! We struggle to understand this idea of greatness because we forget that the greatness for which we are made, the greatness we are called to, has much more to do with who we are, than it does necessarily with what we do, what we have, our status in the world, our position, or authority. Do we let our identity as sons and daughters of God shape our lives? Guide our decisions? Form the foundation of our relationships? That, is greatness!
Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2013 tells us, “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness.” (Matt 5:48) What is greatness? Living the call to holiness and mission! That’s what you were made for! I think it’s important to keep this at the forefront of our minds always. What is my purpose? Where am I going? Why am I here?
Say it with me: I was created by love, for love, to love. I am created for loving communion with God and with people. Called to the life of heaven. To get there I must know him, love him and serve him, in all things. That is pursuing holiness. It is a process. It takes time. It takes dedication. It takes passion. It takes great love. But, that is greatness.
God’s not calling any one of us to be merely a good person. He’s calling us to be saints. He is calling us to follow Him. To take his yoke upon us and learn from Him. He is saying to us, “I choose you. You have what it takes because I have given it to you. I have poured out my love, my heart, my life into your very being for this purpose. So that you may be conformed to my image. So that you may learn to think like me, speak like me, act like me, and most of all, love like me! My Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth if only you allow this and cooperate with my grace.” The Lord tells us to be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48)! That’s a tall order. But, we don’t do this in our own strength. There are no bootstraps to lift up here. In the kingdom down is up; less is more. “He must increase, and I must decrease.” He has given us and continues to give us, every means to become great.
God wants to make us saints through the work of grace. Whether or not we become a saint, is really up to us. We have to let him do it in us. At every moment, as St John of the Cross said, God is at work to make our souls great. But, he is a gentleman and he doesn’t force himself upon us. He needs our cooperation to bring about our transformation. To bring about greatness in us. He needs us to accept this call to true greatness. Being a better “me” is not good enough. God is calling us to be Christ in the world. Your world. He’s calling you to be a “living epistle read by all” (2 Cor 3:2-3). That simply means a living, breathing, walking Bible; the joy of the Gospel wherever we go. Bringing Christ to the world. That is greatness.
Greatness is being able to sincerely pray with St Patrick:
Christ in the eyes of everyone who sees me
Christ in the ears of everyone who hears me
Christ on the lips of everyone who speaks of me
Christ in the mind of everyone who thinks of me
Greatness is being able to pray the Litany of Humility and mean it:
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I go unnoticed,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
It’s easy to hear this, think of the great saints, and dismiss it. “Oh, I could never do that.” But, the great saints have something that we also have! Saints are simply people who love God. Saints are people that when they fall, they get back up. With an even greater stubborn boldness and zeal. With every fall they recognize that, in a way, they are falling up on there way to God! Provided, we do not give into discouragement and that we remember the words of St John: “Little children, you are of God, and have overcome them; for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
God doesn’t give up. He made you for greatness. He has called you to greatness. Where you are, now! Today. Here in this moment. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today. Now. Greatness begins with relationship with him. Greatness is recognizing that though you may fall a thousand times, his love and mercy remains; just as a loving parent delights as a child learns to walk, and stumbles along the way. You are no different. Knowing this, being confident in this, knowing that you are a joy for Jesus, that’s greatness. Turning away from sin, and allowing him to transform your life? That is greatness. Allowing yourself to receive in His mercy and forgiveness when you mess up, yep, that is also greatness! Being an instrument of this same mercy and forgiveness in the world? Yep. That’s greatness too! Too many people fail to realize how deeply the Father thirsts for their love! And how He desires to be their Savior.
What does greatness look like? It looks like love of and service to God without limits. None of the saints put any limits on their service to God. As Maximilian Kolbe says, “Their former mediocre righteousness no longer satisfied them. By striving to reach the peak of Christian perfection, they tried to redeem the time and the graces they had previously squandered. In fact, when it comes to the glory of God, and the salvation of souls, no effort is too heavy for a saint, no cross is unpleasant… because it can be put to the service of God’s love.”
Sometimes we make following the will of God for our lives much more complicated than it actually is. And so, we think this kind of “greatness” seems out of reach. Through the pages of Scripture, the teachings of the Church, the lives of the saints, the Lord has actually given us a pretty good road map to follow.
o We are reminded that we should of course, Love God and love our neighbors.
o That we should love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind and strength
o That we should seek first the kingdom and put the Lord before all things
o That we should put our trust in him and surrender all that burdens us.
Yet, making decisions from day to day, and especially about our future can be so overwhelming and cause so much anxiety. At every moment of the day we are presented with a decision to make: “Who am I serving?” “Who’s kingdom am I building.” How we answer those questions: well, that is greatness. Or, it is not.
In the book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis writes (which character these words are attributed to I do not recall, but the point remains): “There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who say, ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ and those who say, ‘My kingdom come, my will be done.’” We see this example in the Blessed Mother, the “New Eve” as she is often called. What a contrast. Mary says, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” Eve effectively says, “Be it unto my word.” One is greatness. One is not.
Greatness is making the right choice, always. Every day. Even when it hurts. Even when it may cost us. Even when no one notices. “Friends” may walk away, people may mock us.
Greatness is faithfulness.
St Ignatius of Loyola offers us some wisdom here: “To make a good choice our intentions ought to be simple: only looking at what we were created for; namely the praise of God, our Lord, and the salvation of souls. So, I ought to choose, in whatever I may do, that which may help me fulfill that end for which I am created.”
Say it with me: I was created for the praise of God and for the salvation of souls. First my own, and then those around me. That’s my primary purpose. Living with that in mind is greatness.
Greatness is:
Seeking to live out this purpose where we are. Not “someday,” but today. Faithful to our state in life. Faithful in the little things. Where the Lord has us.
Refusing to compromise your purity and saving yourself as a gift for your future spouse.
Accepting the love and mercy of God, receiving his forgiveness. And offering that same mercy to others.
Recognizing that God is well able to redeem the time and make up for what you have done poorly if you let him.
Offering up that task that you so hate to do as a sacrifice, as an offering, as a prayer in and of itself for someone in need.
The smile you give to the cashier at Wal-Mart as you look into her eyes. No one has done that today. No one has done that in months. She feels in that brief moment, the love of God through you.
The dad who despite having eight children, and a busy schedule, wakes up every morning at 3 AM to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet on behalf of his family. No one will ever see this. No one will ever know. How does he have time? He makes it.
Being able to see that with every diaper you change you are also changing the world.
Lending an ear to listen and a shoulder to cry on for someone in need; even when you don’t really want to.
Choosing not to click “yes” to the question, “Are you still watching?”
The college student who continues to go to daily Mass despite the busy schedule; despite the ridicule of friends.
Being able to put the phone down and be present to the person sitting across from you. Recognizing Christ in them! Even if you don’t particularly like that person.
Praying when you don’t feel like it. Perhaps praying even more when you don’t feel like it.
Praying for people in the moment; when they ask, and allowing yourself to intercede on their behalf and be a channel of God’s love and grace.
Picking up whatever cross and suffering that we may have to bear in this life, and recognizing that in all things God works for good for those who love him (Rom 8:28). And like Christ, enduring the cross for the joy that is set before us (Heb 12:2).
Recognizing that our trials serve to strengthen us. If we will let God work in these moments. Those areas where we struggle most, are most often the places where God is trying to cultivate virtue in us; where he is calling forth greatness.
Embracing the truth that every person your eyes will meet today, and every person who hears your voice… Yep, the Lord has given you them to love today.
Realizing that the Lord has given you a gift in this call to greatness. God’s love is so powerful, so complete, so perfect, so beyond our comprehension, that each one of us reveals an aspect of his love in the world that only we can reveal. Greatness is allowing yourself to be a reservoir of love that is poured out on those around you!
St Therese of Lisieux, offers us this:
“I understood that to become a saint, one had to suffer much, seek out always the most perfect thing to do, and forget self. I understood, too, there were many degrees of perfection and each soul was free to respond to the advances of Our Lord, to do little or much for Him, in a word, to choose among the sacrifices He was asking. Then, as in the days of my childhood, I cried out: “My God ‘I choose all!’ I don’t want to be a saint by halves, I’m not afraid to suffer for You, I fear only one thing: to keep my own will; so take it, for ‘I choose all’ that You will!”
Greatness is saying, with St Therese, “I choose all.”
