The God of Small Things

Homily of H.E. Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio S. David, D.D.

Bishop of Kalookan and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

Solemnity of Our Lady, the Queen Beauty of Carmel

July 16, 2025 | Carmelite Monastery, Angeles City

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning!

I thank the Lord for giving me this opportunity to preside at this Eucharistic celebration on the Solemn Occasion of the Fiesta of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, together with all of you, devotees of Our Lady, our Blessed Mother, and contemplative community of Carmel, Angeles City, and our brother priests here present for concelebrating with me.

Prophet Elijah and Mount Carmel

You know? One of the great biblical figures associated with Mount Carmel is the Prophet Elijah. In our first reading (1 Kings 18:42b-45a), the prophet prophesied the end of Israel's long experience of a devastating drought. What did Elijah do? He climbed Mount Carmel. He bowed to the ground, and he told his servant to look out to the sea. That sea is the Mediterranean Sea. (There is a majestic view from Mount Carmel in Northern Israel of the Mediterranean.) The servant looked out to the sea because Elijah was praying for rain; and he returned to the Prophet and said, “Wala po.” (There is nothing.) But the prophet kept saying to the servant, “Go and look again,” and seven times, THE servant returned, and he said, “Wala po.” But on the seventh time, finally, the servant saw [the cloud] and said, “I see a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea” (verse 44). That was the sign: a small cloud. Isang munting ulap.

It reminds me of that story about a town that was also experiencing a devastating drought. Tag-tuyot kaya hindi sila makapagtanim. So, they went to the parish priest and asked him to celebrate Mass on a hill. Para daw magdasal para umulan. The whole town came, but only one little girl brought an umbrella. Immediately, the parish priest noticed the girl, and commended the faith of that little girl. Only one brough an umbrella, the little girl. Her faith was like that a small cloud. A tiny sign, but so full of hope.

Mga kapatid, wala naman pong anumang malaki na hindi nagsimula sa maliit. Businesses, relationships, vocations, they grow through small beginnings. Kapag instant ang yaman, instant ding mawala yan. What is patiently nurtured lasts much longer. Kaya delikado ang gusto ng biglang yaman. Ni hindi marunong magsimula sa konti at maliit. 

There is a well-known novel entitled “The God of Small Things”, and it won a Nobel Prize in Literature. It could just as easily describe how God works in our lives, and in the salvation history.

Elijah would later stand at the mouth of a cave (1 Kings 19:8-13). He would be told to go to Mount Horeb and wait for the Lord, and he waited for the Lord to pass by. The writer tells us, first, a strong wind, a typhoon came, but the Lord was not in the wind. Then an earthquake, an earth-shaking event, but the Lord was also not in the earthquake. Then followed a forest fire, a conflagration, but the Lord was still not in the fire. Finally, Elijah felt a tiny whispering breeze, and then he covered his face because he knew God was there.

Small Things and The Small Cloud

Alam po ninyo? Ganyan tumrabaho ang Diyos. God often works not through big spectacles, but through little things, things that are unnoticed, humble and hidden. This is the heart of the Carmelite spirituality. Our favorite saint, Santa Teresita, Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, she calls this “The Little Way,” “Ang Landas ng Kaliitan.” In simple terms, it means “to do small things with great love.” “To do small things with great love.”

Saint Paul says, “When the fullness of time had come,” narinig natin sa second reading (Gal. 4:4-7), “God sent his Son, born of a woman.” No armies, no chariots, just the quiet “yes” of a simple girl called Mary of Nazareth. Her humble faith was like that small cloud—munting ulap. The doorway through which the drought of sin was broken and ended; and the living water of Jesus Christ poured out abundantly to the world.

At the foot of the cross, Mary stood in what looked like a defeat, a tragedy; but at that moment, Jesus entrusted Mary to us and us to Mary, “Woman, behold your son,” and to the beloved disciple, “Behold your mother” (John 19:26-27). In that small, hidden moment, Mary became the Mother of the Church, our Mother who stands beside us in our driest moments, our driest seasons, reminding us that hope often begins small. Baka ma-miss ninyo dahil hindi napansin, dahil naghahanap tayo kaagad ng malaki. Nagsisimula Siya sa maliit.

Jesus loved using the image of smallness, littleness to describe the dynamic of the Kingdom of God. He said, “The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest of the seeds, but when it grows, it grows into the biggest of shrubs.” He also said, “The kingdom of God is like a little yeast…” (Matthew 13:31-33). Konting lebadura. Just a pinch of it. You mix it with the dough, and it rises, and rises.

The greatest works of God begin with a tiny seed:

• a simple prayer that nobody notices,

• a quiet act of kindness,

• a small “yes” to what God is asking of you today. 

Later during the Holy Communion, what will you receive? A tiny, tiny piece of bread, and yet we make an act of faith that it holds the entire Christ. That is why, never belittle small things or the little ones.

Remember, the Lord says through the Prophet Isaiah, “I have called you by name: you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1). “You are mine. You are precious in my sight.”

One time Jesus was in the Temple, and He was watching people making big, big donations, you know, and even calling the attention of the trumpeteers in order to advertise their generosity. The Lord did not notice the big givers. He noticed one widow. The widow who dropped two copper coins (Mark 12:41-44). For Him, they were worth much more than the rich people's big, big offering. Because her small gift came from a big heart, a big heart.

So, when you feel too small, or unworthy, or discouraged, please remember, the Gospel says, “If you have faith, even the size of a mustard seed, you can command a mulberry tree to move, and it will do it” (cf. Luke 17:6). God entrusts great things to small people, to ordinary people. He sees in each one of you more than what you actually see in yourselves.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel teaches us: never despise the small clouds. Maybe you are praying for rain. Maybe you are praying for healing in your family, or maybe you're praying for a loved one to return, or for hope in the drought of your life. Keep praying. Praying like the prophet Elijah. Keep saying “yes” like Mama Mary. Because hope often begins as a tiny cloud on the horizon. 

So, I invite you to end this reflection with a prayer.

O Blessed Mother Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Little Cloud of Hope, please pray for us. Teach us to trust that our hidden prayers, our small sacrifices, and our quiet acts of faith, can break the droughts of our lives. May we never belittle the small things. For in the eyes of God, we know we are precious, we are loved, and through Him, we are made great. Amen.

Transcribed by Joel V. Ocampo

Photos by Carmelite Monastery, Angeles City