Our good works are the ‘grandchildren’ of God

In a narrow alleyway in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), outside the doorway to the motherhouse of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by St. Mother Teresa to serve Jesus in the poorest of the poor, little children play. They await the Americans and Europeans who come to pay homage to St. Teresa of Calcutta’s tomb and work, and they hope to beg an offering of money from these passersby.

One sunny morning a few years back, during a week-long visit to the missionaries, I was exiting the motherhouse and these children surrounded me as usual. They chattered away, pulled at my clothes, and gently encouraged me to give them something. Then one of them, a little boy with bright black eyes, did something unexpected: he pulled my hand toward him, took a ballpoint pen, and wrote his name on the back of my hand, “Shabat.”
He smiled and scampered away, and probably never recalled that moment again. But I have. His name and his memory were written not just on my hand, but upon my heart that day.

And so, too, are we written, indelibly, on God’s heart.

He knows our names, He formed our souls, and He sees us, always.

Furthermore, the good works that each of us do — our efforts to assist the unseen, the unloved, the underprivileged — are also written on God’s heart and are cherished there. Dante Alighieri tells us in his Divine Comedy that just as we are the children of God, so, by extension, the works which we bring forth are God’s grandchildren.

God’s grandchildren. How many of us cherish, as the dearest treasure in our families, the grandchildren? They are a source of delight and could never, ever, be forgotten, taken for granted, or overlooked.

So too it is with your efforts, your works, your labors for His kingdom. It is the work of Legatus to change the world by supporting initiatives, nationally and internationally, that assist those in need. These include building churches, renovating convents, aiding schools, promoting faith-based businesses, being a leaven in society that would be missing without the labors of each member, in their own sphere of influence, populating God’s loving family with such works, His grandchildren.

In your efforts, as you question the budget, the efforts, and the impact, know that grandchildren take time to grow. They toddle and topple, and then smile and get back up again. They often forget to say thank you, but they are thankful. They love you simply by being yours.

Know that each of God’s grandchildren, each of your works, is written indelibly on God’s heart. He loves you for offering them to Him, and He blesses you.

And you are His precious sons and daughters, known by Him before the creation of the world and called by Him to do Him some service that would not be done without you. Remove George Bailey, and Bedford Falls becomes Pottersville. Remove your works, and that sphere is lessened and impoverished, missing the spark of love needed to become all God has hoped it can become.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart,” He tells us. (Jer 1:5)

And those works He has entrusted to you to fulfill? These too were handpicked by Him and written on His heart from all eternity. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:10)

Never doubt that you are written on God’s heart. Your works are written there too, cherished by Him, and indelibly inscribed in His love.

ELIZABETH A. MITCHELL, S.C.D., is dean of students for Trinity Academy, a private K-12 Catholic school in Wisconsin. She is also a monthly contributor to The Catholic Thing.