On the virtue of being ‘puny instruments’
In the midst of reading Sr. Mary of St. Peter’s diary during adoration this morning (†1) I was struck by a passage that made me nearly laugh out loud:
“Act in a spirit of simplicity because if you will indulge in too much human reasoning, you will not be an adequate tool in My hands. Think rather of the glory that will be offered Me by the whole heavenly court for having conquered such formidable enemies with such a puny instrument!”
You see, our Lord had revealed to Sr. Mary that communist machinations in France were meriting great chastisement for the whole country, and He wanted her to offer reparation to the Heavenly Father in His name to appease divine wrath. The communists (and the demons in league with them) made a formidable foe. But our Lord simply wanted humble obedience and trust from her, so that His will might be accomplished. As He reassured her many, many times, she simply needed to do what He asked of her, and allow Himself to work out the details according to His good pleasure.
Let us take this message to heart—to be simple, pliable tools in God’s hands—and let Him worry about everything else.
Lord, grant that I may be a ‘puny instrument’ in Your hands, ready to set about to whatever tasks You ask of me, such that Your will may be accomplished and Your glory be made manifest! Low creature that I am, may I be a fitting instrument in Your divine Hands, such that Your beautiful music of grace may be heard in the world and reverberate to the heavens. Amen.
†1 • Sr. Mary is the Carmelite nun to whom Christ appeared in the 1840’s and revealed the importance of devotion to His Holy Face and Holy Name.
