Memorial of St. Therese of Lisieux October 1, 2026
Fr. Alexander Albert St. Mary Magdalen, Abbeville
“You can do anything if you set your mind to it.” Maybe they don’t say that anymore – I hope not – but people used to say that all the time when I was a kid: “you can do anything if you set your mind to it.” The intention was to encourage kids to do great things, to build their confidence, and inspire them to dream big. That was the intention. It was not the effect. The human race has more anxiety now than ever before.
To 10 year-old me, the line “you can do anything if you set your mind to it” had darker implications. It meant that, if there was something I tried to do and failed, it was always my fault. I must not have “set my mind to it” enough. Every time I’d see someone succeed at something, there was this voice in the back of my mind saying “you could do that if you tried hard enough.” There was this constant feeling of inadequacy.
It’s not like I always failed at everything – there were things I was naturally good at. It’s not like I never got better – I used to be terrible at singing and trying hard enough for long enough did actually change that… plus a few novenas… Still, my point is that this message, this claim that I should be able to do anything if I just tried hard enough nagged at me. Y’all there were times it was crippling. In middle school, I don’t know if I was ever just comfortable being me. I remember being in Mass and hyperfocusing for the prayer right after the Our Father, the part when everyone finishes the Our Father, but the priest keeps talking.
Back then, the prayer was translated differently. It said “grant us peace in our day. In your mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety…” I remember fixating on the words “grant us peace” and “protect us from all anxiety” and begging God to make it true.
And you know what? He did. Eventually. Like 15 years later when I was in seminary and finally came to terms with the fact that, no, actually, I can’t do whatever I set my mind to. That’s an unreasonable expectation and trying to live up to that is a recipe for disaster.
By the way, that prayer is phrased differently now. It still asks for peace, but the phrase “protect us from all anxiety” is replaced by asking that we may be “safe from all distress.” Distress includes anxiety and all kinds of other unpleasant things, so we’re actually praying for more protection now. If you struggle with anxiety, I highly recommend you pay close attention to that prayer after the Our Father, called the “embolism.” It’s when the priest is representing Jesus Christ praying those words for you. If you have “distress,” if you want “peace,” then really lock in on that prayer and in your heart ask that it become true for you. It’s one part in Mass you don’t actually have to say or do anything. Just pay attention to it and intend it – that is “active participation” in Mass, to interiorly join yourself to what’s going on.
Anyway, the point is that God did deliver me of anxiety – though He knows I still have to renew that prayer often – and that one of the ways he did was to wipe out the false idea that I could do anything if I just tried hard enough. No I couldn’t. No I cannot. No you can’t either. To say you can do anything you set your mind to is actually a lie and a trap. Jesus knows that lie, so he gives us the truth in its place.
The disciples ask Jesus “who is the greatest?” I love this question. It’s so honest. It’s also the real desire behind the claim you can do anything you set your mind to. People are trying to say that everyone can be great. Greatness is possible for every person. You can be great. You can be great. You can be great. The problem with the false promise is it confuses greatness with accomplishment. In the eyes of the world, to be great is to succeed, to be famous, to do big, impressive things.
Jesus knows better. He says, “you want greatness? Okay, I’ll show you greatness. Check out this little kid! He’s done nothing special and you don’t even know his name. He’s great! Be like him!” What? How is a kid who hasn’t done anything “great?” Well, he’s not great the way the world defines it. But we are not meant to be like the world. In the world but not of it. He’s great because he has faith, he has hope, he has love. He trusts his parents the way we’re supposed to trust God. He doesn’t expect to control everything – he’s just a kid. Yeah, well, we’re not supposed to control everything either… God’s in charge and we should trust him the way a little kid trusts mom and dad.
That’s what’s going on with that psalm – my favorite psalm. Psalm 131 – “O LORD, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty; I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child. Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap, so is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the LORD, both now and forever.”
Contrary to the world’s lie that you can do anything if you just try hard enough, this psalm says “actually, I find peace when I admit my limitations… when I don’t chase after things too sublime for me.” I find peace like an infant on momma’s lap. “Israel, hope in the Lord” is a way of saying “hope in God and quite trying to do it all yourself!”
This does not mean you don’t do hard things. It does not mean you give up and never grow. Human beings are pretty amazing and when we really set our minds to something, we can do incredible things. Olympic athletes, astronauts, artists, engineers, scientists… highly motivated people have done truly great things for themselves and the world. But here’s the thing, none of those people succeeded on their own. They had certain natural talents, they had mentors and support systems, they had good luck… ultimately, they had God’s providence… God created them and created the conditions for them to accomplish certain things, whether they recognize that or not.
Well, the same God who made it possible for someone to run a mile under 4 minutes and for human beings to go to the moon also made you. And loves you. And wants you to be truly great. But! – and this is the most important part – God does not define greatness the way the world does. For God, greatness is found in faith – resting in and trusting him like an infant on momma’s lap. For God, greatness is found in hope – trusting that even when everything falls apart, you win in the end so long as you stick with God. For God, greatness is found above all in love – willing the good of the other, which is say, choosing to do what helps people know and love God.
Did you catch that? It is to will the good. That’s not the same thing as to accomplish it. I can choose to pray for you, to offer you food, to teach you, to serve you in 10,000 different ways and even if it doesn’t work, even if you refuse to accept it… I still did something great. I loved. If you set your mind to it, no one can stop you from loving even if that love does not succeed in the way you want.
Just ask St. Therese. What’s great about a 24 year old girl who died of tuberculosis in a small convent in northwestern France? Like only a few dozen people even knew she existed when she died. She wrote exactly one book and it was just a diary of her own life.
But Therese is a saint, and a doctor of the Church. Only 38 people in history have that title. Why? Because Therese loved greatly and trusted greatly. She did little things, unimportant things, she failed a lot. But she did not stop loving and she did not stop trusting God. And she herself would point out that she’s not great because the world knows her name now. She would tell us that there are many, many, many saints whose names we do not know. They are great despite being forgotten by the world. Only in heaven will we see how immensely great they were in their faith, hope, and love.
The same can be true of you. Dear spiritual children, I will not lie to you. I will not burden you with the anxiety of unfair expectations. You cannot do anything you set your mind to. I hope you do not face the distress of constantly feeling like a failure because of that false standard.
But, dear ones, you can be great! Greater than you can imagine! In my mind’s eye, in my heart, I see the potential of you shining like the stars, radiant with heavenly glory the likes of which would knock us out if we saw it now! Oh, how God loves you! How God so eagerly desires you to share his glory!
You will have to do many difficult things. You will accomplish things you don’t think are possible. You will “fail” in ways you do not expect. But if you trust… if you put down the burden of making yourself great, if you strive to love through successes and failures, if you strive to trust God and do your best whether you’re winning or losing, then God will make you great! Maybe the world will see it… maybe it won’t. But everyone will see it eventually when the final veil is lifted.
Don’t try to “be someone.” Be what you are – a child of God – and you will be among the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.