“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the best paintings.” (Saint Andre Bessette).
I have been reflecting very often on my own unworthiness.
Saint Padre Pio – who I love very much – would advise his spiritual children to discern the difference between the voice of God in their soul and the voice of the Evil One.
And the difference is very easy to distinguish…
Where I observe some weakness in my soul with distress it is the Evil One who drives my thoughts. If instead, I observe some weakness in my soul with sadness and humble repentance – with PEACE – then is the voice of God, the PRINCE OF PEACE, who is directing my thoughts.
And once I read those very simple words of that very great saint, the message was clear and has stayed clearly in my mind. You see, it is IMPOSSIBLE to feel distress with the Prince of Peace. He assumes my burdens, and He forgives all things in His infinite goodness and mercy and condescension…
It is like He is an artist who paints a marvellous painting. When the artist paints, nobody marvels at the brushes. Nobody looks at the artwork and thinks to themselves, “What a marvellous brush that was able to paint that marvellous painting!” Nobody looks at the canvas and says, “How extraordinary to have paint and brushes that do such wonderful work?”
Instead, when we look at the painting, we marvel at the skill of the artist and not the skill of His tools. And it is this way with us too.
You see, I am small and miserable and weak. Right now I have complete and utter faith in God but if He removes His GRACE - even for a single instant - I am lost, completely lost. I am completely at the mercy of my Beloved. And I ask nothing of Him other than that He allows me to love Him still more. I am like the brush in the Artist's hand.
For I was lost and now am found. And now I must humble myself to seek out His Holy Will and submit to it. Now I must put aside all the pride inside my heart and instead imitate the example of the Blessed Virgin through whose PERFECT FIAT the Son of Man was made incarnate…
For God can make such wonders through little things…
Saint Andre Bessette said, “It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the best paintings.”
And so it is that I – the smallest of all the small brushes – pray to be made of some use in the Holy Hand of my Beloved, so that He can do with me as He will…
For only through my smallness can I be made strong. My Beloved has no use for big things – for He is bigger than the UNIVERSE! And though He has no use for small things either – having allowed Himself to be made incarnate in the Blessed Virgin's Womb, still I – being small – pray that God makes use of me as a worthless little brush…
Just a worthless little brush…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
Beautiful.