‘He shed his Precious Blood for us’
Sister Joyce Lehman • President, Sisters of the Precious Blood
We all know people who have made a positive difference in our life or in the lives of others. Some we call heroes, others we call angels or saints. While we tend to put these people on pedestals and too often assume that we could never do the things they do, the truth of the matter is that each one of us carries within ourselves not only the possibility of making a difference but the responsibility to do so.
William James wrote that we should “act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” Blessed Theresa of Calcutta reminds us that “We can do no great things – only small things with great love.” And Will Rogers, ever the humorist, wrote, “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Rarely do we get to make a difference in a big way: saving a drowning child, helping an elderly stranger or giving life and limb for faith or country. It happens more often in small, daily ways.
Although we can be easily overwhelmed by the need in the world, making a difference starts at home. When we are generous, loving, forgiving, peaceful and reconciling in the one hundred feet around us, things can’t stay the same. What is selfish, wasteful, violent and divisive on this planet is diminished. When we act as though love and goodness really are stronger than hate and evil, we change and so does the world around us. Jesus lived each day fully in the moment, right to the moment He shed his Precious Blood for us. It is the power of the love that His Blood demonstrates which enables us to be the difference we want to see.