Second flutes and second fiddles are all indispensable

There is a story about the renowned symphony conductor, Arturo Toscanini. It is said that during the rehearsal with a symphony orchestra, Toscanini suddenly stopped the whole orchestra in mid-measure and announced accusingly, “I cannot hear ze second floot!” In the flood of music of a hundred-piece orchestra, Toscanini’s refined ear had perceived that a sound was lacking: the sound of a secondary instrument. Those missing notes of one line of music distorted the whole harmony. It was not that the second flute was playing the wrong notes. There was nothing incorrect in its line of melody. It was simply not bearing its part of the harmony, and it is the harmony that makes the symphony.

We are not used to thinking harmoniously, unless we are musicians, and true musicians at that. We notice much more the soloists, the leaders, the ones who stand out, the first violinist who leads the orchestra. Too often, we think of an orchestra as simply furnishing a background for one or another notable player. With that outlook, the background becomes accidental, unnecessary, disposable. It would never occur to us that a second flute is indispensable. We do not think symphonically.

The Church has been called a symphony. It is the harmony of the truths of the faith, of the interaction of believers that makes the Church. We often forget this. We honor the soloists, the saints, the individuals who stand out, and this is good, but for each saint there was a time when they did not stand out. They were not noticeable often for much of their lives. They were the second flutes of the Church, the second fiddles of their communities, and in most cases, people took little notice of them.

Very few of us stand out in our world. Often, very few of us even stand out among our families, friends and colleagues. We don’t even rank as second fiddles. Yet when we try to live the faith that we believe, we are singing in harmony with the saints and angels, and that music changes the world. It may not be noticeable, but nevertheless, the change is real because it is brought about by the Holy Spirit.

We don’t think of the Holy Spirit as having much impact in our lives, but, as one Dominican wrote, grace can be as simple as a bit of common sense. A smile, a “please” or “thank you” can be a work of the Holy Spirit, and what the Holy Spirit does, makes a difference.

A symphony is made up of notes. Different notes, played by different instruments, most of them being so short that they last less than a second. All the notes come together and form the beauty of the symphony. A word, a look, a smile, a helping hand, these are all little actions, as small and short as the notes in a symphony, but they are all inspired by the same love flowing from the heart of God, and they form an inaudible harmony heard only by those who are aware of the Musician who inspires them. We are not used to listening to this silent music, and we too often forget to join in, but the Conductor will rap his baton on the music stand and point it at us and say, “I cannot hear you!”

Make your music heard! Make your love seen! Each time we leave Mass we carry with us the infinite graces of God’s truth and love. That is more than enough to carry us through the challenges of life. It can carry us through them with peace and joy that come from knowing that we are not alone. God is with us. He comes to us at every Mass and he stays with us at every second. Most of us can only do little things, like St. Thérèse of Lisieux, but those little things change the world around us. They add up and create a symphony of love to transform our world.

Sister Gabriela of the Incarnation is a member of the Discalced Carmelites order in Flemington. Learn more at www.flemingtoncarmel.org.