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Writer's pictureSarah Raad

Simplicity

“Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.” (Saint Therese of Lisieux).

Presentation of the Keys from Purgatory and Paradise to Saint Peter (Peter Paul Rubens)

Saint Therese of Lisieux said, “Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity.” And I have been reflecting on this simplicity for some time now.


You see, it is very clear to me that Saint Therese is correct! We are even told as much by God Himself in the Gospel… “Jesus declared, ‘I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.’” (Matthew 11:25-27).

While some of the Saints were intellectuals, many many many of them were simple people – uneducated people – with limited intellectual talents.

I have only to think of Saint Simon Peter himself… The actual head of the Church. The human soul who was given the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven is a soul who was not educated. He was not a brilliant orator – like Saint Paul. He was not a doctor or a brilliant writer – like Saint Luke. He was not even a brilliant Doctor of the Church – like Saint Augustine. No. The head of the Church – the holder of the keys – is an illiterate man who only knew how to fish. That man – who gets to open Heaven for me, and for you too – never went to school and probably did not even know his 3 times tables...


You see, it takes more than intellect to understand God. It takes WISDOM. And wisdom is no HUMAN thing. Wisdom – the GIFT of the Holy Spirit – is the thing that allows us to understand God Himself. And the more we understand God, the more we love Him. And the more we LOVE Him, the closer we shall choose to be to Him in eternity…


Once, Saint Josemaría met a woman who had a serious mental illness, that prevented her from living an ordinary life. That woman could only pray. At that time, there was a very anti-Catholic newspaper and Saint Josemaría asked that woman to pray for that newspaper to close down. Within a few months (and without any explanation) the newspaper went bankrupt and closed down. Saint Josemaría was certain that the simplicity of that woman’s prayers was more powerful than the newspaper’s editors.


You see, God loves a simple heart. And that is why the most SIMPLE woman in the world – the most HUMBLE – the NEW EVE – was made Queen of Heaven. Because – unlike Eve, she did not seek to know what God knew, but rather, to serve Him as “handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:38). And in reward for her simplicity, God made this woman His Mother – and mine, and yours too.


And when I think of that, I marvel. For ours is an awesome God, King of the Universe…


For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.

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