MEDITATION III
Fidelity in Little Things
1st Prelude. Behold Christ occupied in simple manual labor.
2nd Prelude. Ask the grace of understanding the value in God’s sight of perfect fidelity in even the least observances.
POINT I. What is meant by fidelity in little things? It means such fidelity in doing God’s will on all occasions as to neglect no details, even the least important. What is there in those details that makes them precious? It is their conformity to the will of God. That is what Christ valued in them. The greatest things on earth are insignificant trifles in the sight of God; but the least act of conformity to God’s will has a Divine worth, and therefore is more precious than any merely natural performance. Faith teaches us to appreciate this truth; Christ came to enforce it by the example of His private life. How do I act in this matter? Am I habitually faithful in observing all my rules, even those which seem to be of less importance?
POINT II. Consider the importance of such fidelity.
1. This fidelity is a necessary precaution against the commission of great faults. For Ecclesiasticus tells us: “He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little” (xix, 1). And our Blessed Saviour teaches: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in that which is greater; and he that is unjust in that which is little is unjust also in that which is greater” (St. Luke xvi, 10). Thus small faults in the matter of charity, poverty, sensuality, chastity, etc., gradually lead to grievous sins. No one becomes at once a great sinner or a great saint.
Nemo repente fit summus, says the old proverb. Before Judas sold our Lord for thirty pieces of silver, he had accustomed himself to lesser acts of injustice, as St. John tells us, saying of him that “he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein” (xii, 6).
2. Our lives are mostly made up of minor acts, as were the private lives of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and countless Saints. A Martyr’s crown in Heaven may consist of one brilliant gem, the ruby of his heroic death; but the crowns of most Saints are made up of countless sparkling little diamonds, each the reward of fidelity in a little thing. Thus too in human things, in which perfection depends on minor details. For instance, the politeness of the man who is to the manner born is not displayed in extraordinary actions, but in that delicate tact which makes him know his place, so that he never acts amiss, and always says the right word and does the right thing at the right time. This fidelity is, in spiritual things, what good taste is in literature and the other fine arts. Masterpieces differ from common works in the perfection of the least details; for instance, in sculpture, painting, etc., etc.
POINT III. It is by fidelity in minor matters that we acquire the solid virtues needed to perform heroic deeds when the occasion calls for them. This is brought about in two ways.
1. Naturally. Our conduct on all occasions, even the most important, depends to a great extent on the good or evil habits we have acquired. Now habits are acquired by the frequent repetition of acts. It is only in little things that actions can be frequently repeated; for few of us have numerous opportunities to do great things. Therefore our habits, good or bad, are ordinarily the result of our fidelity or infidelity in little things.