“Dear sister or brother, if, as in Bethlehem, the darkness of night overwhelms you, if you feel surrounded by cold indifference, if the hurt you carry inside cries out, “You are of little account; you are worthless; you will never be loved the way you want”, tonight, if this is what you are feeling, God answers back. He tells you: “I love you just as you are. Your littleness does not frighten me, your failings do not trouble me. I became little for your sake. To be your God, I became your brother. Dear brother, dear sister, don’t be afraid of me. Find in me your measure of greatness. I am close to you, and one thing only do I ask: trust me and open your heart to me.'”
– Pope Francis, Midnight Mass Homily 2021
As I look back on 2021 (is it really almost over???), and prepare for 2022 (I feel like I am still processing 2020… ), I am struck by all the big things that happened this past year: the move to a new house while starting a new job, a new vaccine (and a new variant… sigh), and a big return to normality (with some storm clouds on the horizon) seem to have focused and exhausted most of my energy. But when I find myself dwelling on the “big things” that have passed and the big things to come, I find I am a little more anxious, a little more uncertain, and a little more worried.
In those moments, it’s helpful for me to remember the little things that bring me back to myself, to God, and to the light shining through all things: The way the birds chat before they feed at the feeder, the way the morning light shines through the blinds atop the boys’ bunkbed, the little steps of my one year old, and his first babbly words: “mama-mama” then “dada-dada” and now we have “up” and “mo” and “cracker” and even the dreaded “nononono.”
Little things are often overlooked. You can’t often put them on your resume or turn them into a tidy profit. But we overlook them at our own risk, as often they are the most essential things for our spiritual, psychological, and emotional health.
I predict 2022 will be filled with lots of big things, most of them out of our control. We can choose to become caught up in the new narratives, the ever changing bullseyes of public opinion, the fickle invitations of drama that emerge from our personal and professional lives. Or, we can choose to be little, and to let the little things of God teach us how to be little: how to make room for others, how to be hospitable with our attention and with ourselves, how to set boundaries to preserve our peace, how to stay small and centered and hopeful in the midst of frantic activity.
In the words of contemplative teacher Jim Finley: “That which is essential never imposes itself for love is always offered, it’s never imposed, and that which in unessential is constantly imposing itself.”
How can we choose to attend to that which is truly essential this year, that which never imposes itself? How can we remain centered in the love of God and the peace that surpasses all understanding? How can we guard our hearts from those unessential things that are always imposing themselves and that leave us worn out and exhausted?
These questions are my resolutions for 2022, ones I will carry with me in my heart this new year, to ponder, to wonder, and, hopefully, to live.
I am, utterly and completely, grateful for being able to write more in 2021, and grateful to all those who read my writing. I’m hopeful that 2022 will be a time where I can bring more words into being, and discover new ways to connect with writers and readers. Thank you all, as always, for your words of support and affirmation. They are truly treasured.
I wish you a Happy New Year, many blessings, and lots of “little” things in the year ahead.
2021 Posts
The Sacrament of Everything
For ten years, I’ve written here at Incarnation Is Everywhere, paying attention to the presence of God in ordinary life—in family, beauty, grief, prayer, work, and all the quiet moments that might otherwise pass unnoticed. Over time, the blog grew quiet, but the writing did not disappear. Much of that same vision found its way…
The Inside of the Cup
Reflection for Give Us This Day on today’s readings: There has always been a spiritual temptation to obsess endlessly over the externals of religious observance, as Jesus’ biting critique of the Pharisees indicates. And it’s not just the first century Pharisees who are guilty of this. Think of the never ending liturgy wars in the…
To Imitate Christ
I wrote the following reflection for Give Us This Day late last year, and it has been published in next month’s May 2025 issue. Pope Francis died on Easter Monday of this week, and he was such an inspiration to me and my ministry. Given that I’m still processing all he meant to me, the…
Begin Again
It is tempting to think, after a lifetime of spiritual practice, that the call to repentance applies only to beginners. But Jonah and Jesus remind us that from priest to prophet, from king to cow, from God to the entire People of God, all of us are to repent, to change, to begin again. Jonah,…
The Enduring Command
In today’s Gospel, we encounter a Jesus who paints a bleak and frightening portrait of the end times, comparing them to the days before the great flood and the time when fire and brimstone rained down upon Sodom. He also hints at a “rapture,” where one person disappears and the other is left behind. His…
On new things
Generally recognized as the first official encyclical of Catholic Social Teaching, Rerum Novarum (“On new things”) by Pope Leo XIII addressed the tumultuous social conditions of modernity, asserting the rights and dignity of workers in the face of industrialization that had largely replaced the agrarian social order of the previous millennia. Pope Leo’s tomb sits…
No Duplicity
Give Us This Day Reflection for August 24, 2024: Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle What are we to make of Bartholomew’s bravado? When he hears that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah, Bartholomew (traditionally identified with Nathanael) responds: “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” And Jesus, rather than taking offense, recognizes him as a “true…
The Bridge of Hope
We’ve had quite a week. We celebrated my oldest child’s First Communion (Great Joy), and endured my youngest child’s first surgery (Great Terror). The latter was an operation on both of his tiny eyes to correct a misalignment, and while routine, any operation, particularly on the eyes, is pretty scary. We are in recovery mode…
Becoming the Good News Nominated
It’s a strange thing to write a book. You spend so many waking hours devoted to an idea and vision only you can see, and even then, you can only see it obscurely. Some days, writing comes easy, others it is a total struggle. And so you labor on and on until finally a decent…
Wounds That Remain
Triduum Reflection for Give Us This Day, March 2024 There is a wound at the heart of these high holy days, a scarlet thread binding both the divine and the human in an experience of deep love and great suffering. On Holy Thursday, we celebrate in a particular way the outflowing love of God present…
We three kings
Happy Feast of the Epiphany! I just love this fitting feastly bookend for the Christmas season, when the “small” discovery of God incarnate at Christmas enters into our messy human history. Additionally, “We Three Kings” has always been one of my favorite Christmas carols to sing, and I really belt it out when given the…
Winter reading (and writing)
It’s been an unseasonably mild winter here in the Midwest, which most likely means some sort of polar vortex will descend upon us in the new year, bringing arctic temperatures and frozen pipes to this old house. Nevertheless, winter is a wonderful time to be outside, particularly in the evening, which comes swift and inky…
A Primal, Wild Kind of Love
Luscious images of overflowing abundance greet us in the Scriptures on this feast of the Holy Family. In Sirach and the psalm: riches and long life, fruitful vines and olive plants, families gathered around the table. And from Colossians, a good roadmap for a happy domestic life together: “Put on . . . heartfelt compassion,…
Letter of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to the People of God
At the conclusion of the recent Synod on Synodality, the synod participants have published a remarkable letter to the People of God. As I read it, I am overcome with the sense that the Holy Spirit is living and active among us: “The Church absolutely needs to listen to everyone, starting with the poorest.” How…
Transitus
This evening, October 3rd, is traditionally celebrated as the Solemnity of the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi. “Transitus” means passage, or transition, and tonight, we celebrate the Francis’s transition from this life to the life eternal. If there ever was a patron saint for this site, it would be St. Francis, who has taught…
Synodality and Evangelization
Many thanks to Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News Correspondent, for her article on Synodality and Evangelization, featuring an interview with yours truly! The Synod on Synodality begins this week in Rome, and there are already good fruits from the initial meetings. May it be a time of encounter, of deep listening to one another and the…
Seasons of Evangelization
When I lived in Chicago, winter began to cut through your coat sometime in October, as the once-pleasant wind off the lake turned bitter and the days grew dark. We’d hunker down and focus on survival for the next few months . . . until some glorious day in April, when we’d crawl out of…
40
I will sing, sing a new song I will sing, sing a new song By the time you read this, I will have be 40. Yes, my long idyllic youth has ended and I have officially crossed the Rubicon of that mythical age that once meant over the hill or at least, no longer young.…
incarnation is everywhere 
I look forward to reading more of your columns in 2022 and have benefited from your insightful, encouraging, honest words. Thank you!
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Love it Michael! The Littleness…ah the littleness. Lest we forget. Great message!
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Beautiful pictures and comments Michael–pops
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Reading your personal reflections for the first time today in “ give us this day” I feel blessed and in a better place. Thank you for making your writings available. I feel at peace now with your thoughts to reflect on today.
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Dear Mary, thank you so much for your kind words. They are deeply appreciated. I’m grateful to know you feel blessed and at peace. Take care!
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