GIFTS RECEIVED

Continuing my reflection on this prayer of Saint Terese of Liseaux: "Today may there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content and give thanks in all situations. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us."

We are a gifted people both individually and collectively. That should go without saying but sometimes it needs to be said. The problem is not so much that we do not recognize that we have certain gifts. The problem is that we are wont to compare the gifts we have to those of others and always, or more often than not, in our own humble estimation, come up short.

The further truth is that in our honest humility we do recognize that others are indeed more gifted than we are when we compare the same gifts. Countless people sing better than I do, have more intelligence, are better athletes, are, well that list is long. What I often fail to acknowledge is that many of my gifts surpass the same gifts that others possess. All this is a fact of our human existence.

However, we are not to be in the business, if you will, of gifts comparison but in the living out to the best of our ability the gifts with which we have been blessed. On the one hand I am to sing as best I can, think with all my might and play the game with the best of my athletic skills however inferior any of these gifts might be. On the other, I am to do the very same with the gifts that I must, in all humility, acknowledge that I possess that are superior to others.

Again, we should have no issue with any of this. Yet we do. We use the excuse that others are more gifted than we and they are the ones who should be called upon to do what we have been asked to do. That excuse does not hold water, as they say. What we should do instead of making all kinds of invalid excuses is simply to do whatever is asked of us to the best of our ability. So much good in this world of ours gets left undone because of our lame excuses and our unwillingness to do what God has gifted us with the ability to do.

So, when we are called upon to use whatever gifts are needed at a particular moment in time, we can have peace within, peace of mind, knowing that we have been asked to lend a hand because we were exactly where we were supposed to be at that moment. And with faith in ourselves and in those who will help us accomplish what needs to be done, there is nothing that can prevent us together from accomplishing what at first might seem to be impossible but really is not.