All of us want to do something grand to show our love for our loved ones. It would be marvellous if we have the opportunity to do it. But, we don't need to carry out grand things in order to show great love for others and for God. We don't have to do big things, only small things with great love. It is the intensity of love we put into our actions every day that makes them into something beautiful. It is not the magnitude of our action that counts but the depth of love we put into it. Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. It is hard for ppl with AIDS to cope with the fact that they are going to die. But being there with us and seeing us with others in their last moments makes a difference. They need to know that when they're dying, u'll be there holding their hand. The dying are moved by the love they receive. If our actions do not first come from the desire to be with a person, then it really becomes just social work. When you are willing to be with a poor person you can recognise his need and if your love is genuine you naturally want to do what you can as an expression of your love. Service, in a way, is simply a means of expressing your being for the person---and often with the poorest people you cannot completely alleviate their problem. But by being with them, by being for them, whatever you can do for them makes a difference. The message we try to convey to the poorest of the poor is: We cannot solve your problems but God loves you even while you are handicapped or alcoholic or have leprosy, and whether or not you become cured, God loves you just as much and we are here to express that love. And if we can help relieve their pain a bit all well and good, but it is more important for us to remind them that even in the midst of pain and suffering, God loves them. It's a difficult message to communicate, obviously, but we believe that being for them is the first thing. If you spend time with a person then that >is as much an expression of love as what you can do for them. take small steps of love every time there is an opportunity. Each step is like a candle burning in the night. It does not take the darkness away, but it guides us through the darkness.When we look back after many small steps of love, we'll discover that we have made a long and beautiful journey.Paying attention to people is far from easy. We tend to be so insecure about our self-worth and so much in need of affirmation that it is very hard not to ask for attention ourselves. Before we are fully aware of it, we are speaking about ourselves, referring to our experiences, telling our stories, or turning the subject of conversation toward our own territory. The familiar sentence, 'That reminds me of. . .' is a standard method of shifting attention from others to ourselves. That is why listening is so difficult. It means our moving away from the center of attention and inviting others into that space. know how healing such an invitation can be. When someone listens to us with real concentration and expresses sincere care for our struggles and our pains, we feel that something very deep is happening to us. Slowly, fears melt away, tensions dissolve, anxieties retreat, and we discover that we carry within us something we can trust and offer as a gift to others. The simple experience of being valuable and important to someone else has a tremendous re-creative power."
Ultimately, God will not ask us how many projects we have accomplished, the number of books we have read, nor how many degrees we have obtained, but He will ask us if we have done our best, for the love of Him and others.