This morning’s news included an interview with Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish student and climate activist who was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Deeply disturbed by the global environmental crisis and frustrated by the fact that no one was doing anything about it, Greta staged a strike, standing alone outside the Swedish parliament. That was in August of 2018.
Today, students in more than 100 countries around the world have become a part of Greta’s climate change movement, walking out of school and staging strikes to focus attention on an issue that has disturbing ramifications for the future. Hundreds of thousands of children and youth have participated in some way in a movement begun by one teenager who was determined to make a difference.
Whether or not we agree with Greta’s mission or methods, she stands as a living example that every journey begins with the first step.
Each year, it seems, the needs of our world, our communities, our parishes, our poor, become greater. We can become so overwhelmed by the breadth of need that we feel hopeless to make a difference. Our challenge is to step out in faith, carried by our God who fed thousands with a few fish and loaves of bread. What, then, could God do with our meager efforts?
A source of encouragement for me has been Dorothy Day, social activist, writer, Catholic convert, and woman of great faith who believed that the Gospel call to holiness was possible for all of us. Recently, I had the great privilege to be part of a team transcribing her personal diaries for the cause of her canonization.
Her handwritten notes and her powerful example remind us of the radical teachings of the Gospel. She keeps me walking and building with my little bits and pieces, even on those days when I feel like saying, "What's the use?"
Dorothy Day’s words are inspiring: "People say, 'What is the sense of our small effort?' They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”
One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a belief in their power to make a difference. It begins with a conversation about what’s important to them and includes a need for us to listen.
Saint Paul’s first letter to Timothy is a wonderful encouragement for our young people: “Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.