this little light of mine

There’s an email story making its way through cyberspace about a boy helping a classmate with a stack of books – and the life-saving meaning of that simple act of kindness.

The email story ends with the statement:

“Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.”

I’ve read the story before, but found myself pondering it from a new angle this week, mostly in light of the Boston bombings.

I received the email story through my friend Sr. Tess, whom I recently wrote about and who currently lives in Boston. In a personal note, Tess asked for prayers for her city—and for a friend who is nervous about the London Marathon taking place in her city this coming weekend.

In my reply, I asked Tess to also remember the people of Oklahoma City in her prayers. Not only is this Friday, April 19, the anniversary of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, but the OKC Memorial Marathon will also take place on Sunday.

Everyone is a bit on edge.

Not only can the acts of one person change irrevocably another person’s life, for good or for evil… it can also affect an entire global community.

Perhaps when evil acts hit close to home we pay more attention. But at daily Mass today I was reminded that we never stop being connected to the suffering Body of the Christ. We remain in communion with one another, in Christ who is our Light.

Nothing that I do is inconsequential. Everything that I do affects other people. I don’t have to be able to see it to believe it’s true.

As my friend Susan Stabile wrote today on her blog CREO EN DIOS!:

“…we don’t always feel brave or strong or inspiring. But we don’t need to “feel brave to be brave…. feel strong to be strong…or feel inspiring to inspire.” We need to remember that our star, however small, can light the way for others.