Carmelite Homily for the Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, February 4, 2024 – Lectionary 74 (Mark 1:29-39)
Saint Therese of Lisieux, a Carmelite, oftentimes called the ‘Little Flower’ has an autobiography called “A Story of a Soul.” A very popular book. And in that book she writes about one of the sisters. Here’s what she writes (I love this passage): “There is in my community a sister who has the ability to displease me in everything – in her ways, her words, her character, everything seems very disagreeable to me. And still, she must be a holy religious, very pleasing to God. So not wishing to give in to this natural dislike I was experiencing, I told myself ‘charity must not consist only in feelings but in works’ and I set myself to doing for this sister what I would do for the person I love the most. I was content with giving her my most friendly smile. And with changing the subject of the conversation. For one day at recreation she asked, ‘would you tell me dear Sister Therese of the Child Jesus what attracts you so much towards me? For every time you look at me I see you smile.’ I was smiling because I was happy to see her. I did not add, though, that this was only from a spiritual standpoint. All Sister Therese did was smile at her. And it was enough to re-integrate her into the community; make her feeling belonging, and loved, and respected. It’s that simple. In today’s Gospel we have the healing of Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. Well, we can do that too. And it doesn’t have to be a drastic healing like that; it can be as simple as what Saint Therese did – a smile. They say that loneliness is rampant in society today. Twenty-seven percent of adults say they are chronically lonely. Maybe as Valentine’s Day approaches send a card, maybe a smile, maybe just a little word or a phone call. Bring healing. Just ease loneliness with a smile. I think that’s what the call of Jesus in today’s Gospel is – bring healing.
