Letter: January 1, 1854

The quote we see to the right is yet another one of our favorite Saint Mother Theodore Guerin quotes! Who would have thought that a religious woman in the 1800s could be so relevant today? This quote sits well with me because I think it rings especially true today. In a world where everything moves in fast motion, we are all starving for some kind of satisfaction. Yet, we don’t always know exactly how to find it. Sometimes we just need a nice reminder that it is the simple things in life that can make us happy.

When Mother Theodore wrote this casual letter to Sister Mary Xavier of Vincennes, she was wishing her a happy new year. She praised Sister Mary Xavier for her work over the past year. She complimented Sister Mary Xavier on her humbleness and sincerity and wanted her to know that her kindness to others was greatly appreciated. Then she wrote, “Continue, my dear Sister, you will be happy yourself in making others happy.”

I’d say she hit the nail right on the head! This is a message that can live on through every generation. Think about today, and the little things that we do that make each other happy. Think about the last time you held a door open for a stranger and they smiled at you and said, “thank you”. Doesn’t that make you a little happier inside? Of course it does, because you just made a stranger smile! There is just something strangely rewarding about pleasing others.

Let us all take Mother Theodore’s advice, and not dismiss the simple compassion in our lives. It will truly bring us happiness in some way or another and we are all deserving of that. As Mother Theodore would say, “We must practice simplicity, which make us pleasing in the eyes of angels and of God.”