In my group strength classes, every now and then, students are busy traveling or working and only one person shows up for class. That student doesn’t usually like it at first because all of the attention is focused on her. However, it usually ends up being a great session as we talk, laugh and deepen our friendship and understanding of each other.
It got me thinking about the power of the one-to-one encounter. Having time with that one person is special and is important in building a more authentic and caring relationship.
How often did Jesus, in the midst of a crowd, have a personal and life-changing encounter one-to-one … like the woman who came up behind Jesus to touch his cloak to be healed, and Zacchaeus the tax collector who climbed the Sycamore tree to have a better view of Jesus, and Nicodemus the Pharisee who came at night to question Jesus about his teachings.
In our daily lives, we are called to a one-to-one encounter with God in the Sacraments and through personal prayer. By giving time and attention to our relationship with God, we receive his grace so we can be Jesus to others. I know that when I’m not attentive to my prayer life, it’s harder to be loving and patient with people amidst the challenges of everyday life.
One of my favorite saint quotes is from St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “Don’t wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” Her entire ministry was working one-to-one with the dying and the sick, strengthened by her one-to-one time with God in daily Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Her ministry, and that of the Sisters of Charity around the world, is about the power of being 100% present to that one soul in need.
I’m blessed to take communion to a hospital and there have been times when only one person has received — for various reasons. At first I was discouraged when people declined the Eucharist, but over time, God has shown me that I’m simply to be his hands and feet and to trust the results to him. He is teaching me to pray more fervently for the sick, to be a joyful and authentic witness to him, and to savor each one-to-one encounter. Even if no one receives, I trust that God will bring about a greater good than I could never imagine.
I was sharing my one-to-one thoughts with a friend recently and she said that in our world of ‘how many Likes on Facebook’ it can be terribly easy to overlook the power of one. Never fear, there might be only one Like, but thanks to the algorithm of Facebook, thousands of people may have seen the post and who knows how it may have impacted that one person!
I remember a priest telling me that he didn’t get caught up in whether people liked or disliked his homily message. He said that he wrote his homilies in prayer, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and that perhaps the message was meant for just one person; in writing his homilies, he simply desired to be an obedient servant.
So let us try to do what God is calling us to do, trust the results to him, and remember that touching one soul always matters. From 1 Thessalonians 5:11, “Therefore, encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.”