Many goals remain unattained because we are not firmly convinced of the help of divine grace, which makes small efforts supernaturally effective.
Lukewarmness paralyzes the exercise of the virtues, whereas the virtues take wing with love. Love has been the great driving force in the lives of the saints. Lukewarmness makes the smallest efforts seem unrealizable (a letter we have to write, a call, a visit, a conversation, punctuality in the daily plan of life...); it forms a mountain out of a grain of sand, The lukewarm person thinks that, although the Lord asks her to extend her hand, she cannot. And, as a consequence, she does not extend it.... and is not healed. On the contrary, love makes the small acts of virtue that we perform from morning to night have an enormous supernatural efficacy: they forge virtues, smooth out defects and kindle desires for holiness. As a drop of water softens the stone little by little and pierces it, as drops of water fertilize the thirsty earth, so repeated good works create a good habit, a solid virtue, and preserve and increase it4. Charity is strengthened in acts that seem to be of little importance: to put on a good face, to smile, to create a friendly atmosphere around us even when we are tired, to avoid that word that can be annoying, not to get impatient in the middle of the traffic of the big city, to help a colleague who is a little behind in his work that day, to lend some notes to someone who has been ill....
Deep-rooted defects (laziness, selfishness, envy...) can be overcome by trying to live the Gospel scene and remembering Christ's command: Stretch out your hand. We improve if, with the Lord's help, we struggle in the little things: in getting up at the appointed time and not later; in taking care of order in our clothes, in our books; if we try to serve, without being noticed, those who live with us; if we try to think less about our own health and personal concerns; if we know how to choose a television program well or turn it off if it is inconvenient.... He continually tells us: extend your hand, make those small efforts that the Holy Spirit suggests to you in your soul and those who advise you in the spiritual direction to overcome that incapacity, in spite of having failed on other occasions.
Because we count on the grace of the Lord, holiness depends in good part on us, on our docile and continued commitment. It is said of St. Thomas Aquinas that he was known to be a man of few words. One day his sister asked him what it took to be a saint. And almost without pausing, as he went along, the Saint answered: TO WANT. We ask the Lord that we really want to go to Him every day, obeying the goals that have been indicated to us in the spiritual direction.
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