How little sacrifices can provide an ocean of graces

Often holiness consists in simply offering God little daily sacrifices, giving to God every small suffering we endure while going about our day.

Holiness can often seem unreachable, or that it is only possible for priests and nuns who dedicate their entire lives to God.

This would make holiness unattainable for ordinary lay people, who have a much different mission in life than any priest or nun.

Yet, holiness is possible for every person, no matter their state in life.

The key lies in offering everything to God, even the smallest suffering or inconvenience.

Little sacrifices

St. Francis de Sales highlights this spiritual truth in his Introduction to the Devout Life:

[T]ake patiently the petty annoyances, the trifling discomforts, the unimportant losses which come upon all of us daily; for by means of these little matters,lovingly and freely accepted, you will give Him your whole heart, and win His.

It may not seem like much, but each little thing can add up and provide a rich bouquet of sacrifices to offer God.

St. Francis de Sales then goes on to give some concrete examples of what we can offer to God:

I mean the acts of daily forbearance, the headache, or toothache, or heavy cold; the tiresome peculiarities of husband or wife, the broken glass, the loss of a ring, a handkerchief, a glove; the sneer of a neighbour, the effort of going to bed early in order to rise early for prayer or Communion, the little shyness some people feel in openly performing religious duties; and be sure that all of these sufferings, small as they are, if accepted lovingly, are most pleasing to God’s Goodness.

What this means is that we need to accept the suffering as coming from the hand of God and to offer it back to him.

It does not mean that the headache will go away, but at the same time it will help us endure it, as we are suffering for a purpose.

The little sacrifice turns into an act of love.

St. Francis de Sales then explains how God, “has promised a whole ocean of happiness to His children in return for one cup of cold water.“

God does not see our sacrifices as small, but he sees them as beautiful acts of love that must be returned with an even greater abundance of love.

The next time you experience an inconvenience, don’t grumble about it, but offer it up to God and he will turn it into a sweet smelling fragrance that will endure for all eternity.