"Don't say: 'That person gets on my nerves.' Think: 'That person sanctifies me.'"
~ St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #174
When I read the above quote by St Josemaria Escriva, I thought: "I need that one!" How often in the course of a day I have that thought about people~ this or that one gets on my nerves. What a great way to turn it around into something profitable for our spiritual lives; if we accept it and offer it up, we can see the annoyance as sanctifying. I have sometimes heard the people in our lives who irritate us called saint makers.
The other thought I had when I read this was a little more humbling~ how many people do I irritate? Perhaps I can make a saint out of someone else, while trying to not be irritating.
Then again, human nature being what it is, we are all, at one time or another going to get on someones nerves.
So let us continue in the quest for holiness as we all sanctify one another.
9 comments:
That's one that most of us need, Karinann. ;-) Thanks for the great insight.
It's funny when you think about it! Everybody gets irritated or irritates others. God doesn't waste anything. Even St. Therese struggled with this. I guess it doesn't matter whether you're in a convent, monastery or a cave for that matter - people still get irritated and we have many opportunities for growth :)Great post!
Thanks for adding your thoughts to this Robert and Mary.
Mary it's funny you should mention St Therese on this. One of my spiritual pet peeves is when people whisper the rosary in church or the adoration chapel. For me this is like nails on a chalkboard! But I always think of and pray to St Therese when this happens because I recall the story of how one of her fellow sisters rattling her rosary would irritate her.
So I pray for the grace to offer it up.
As St Josemaria used to say, the world admires spectacular sacrifice, but it doesn’t realize the value of hidden sacrifice.
So very true. Thank you for adding your thoughts, Eligelavida.
God bless.
That's a great quote.
Personally I think God created irritating people so that we may appreciate the other ones more!
God bless.
Thanks for another positive spin on this, Victor.
That is indeed a great quote. I will have to remember to say it frequently.
Oops, what I meant was, to say those two little important words - "Sanctify me" when faced with an annoyance or irritation.
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