The Small Things

About the Book

To smile at someone who is sad; to visit even for a little while, someone who is lonely; to give someone shelter from the rain with our umbrella; to read for someone who is blind: these and others can be small things, very small things, but they are appropriate to give our love of God concrete expression at all.
-Mother Teresa

The Small Things invites the reader to walk for a day with Brother James E. Small, a painfully humble, tall, skinny, balding Jesuit brother who works as a carpenter, janitor, and very gifted artist at Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois. Brother Small´s simple life demonstrates beautifully, how one person can shape the world around him by constantly doing the small things with love and generosity. Kearney presents Brother Small´s way of life and story in a format that is accessible, is enjoyable, and most importantly can be useful for readers.

The book begins at 3:50 a.m. when Brother Small rises, and proceeds through the rest of the day with him, working in a cramped workshop next to the boiler room, visiting with a sick colleague at the hospital, painting with every spare minute he can find, and praying throughout the day for a total of nearly three hours.

Brother Small is not brilliant. He is not famous. He is not rich and he is certainly not sexy. He is a very ordinary man. However, he speaks kindly and generously. Children love him. He toils tirelessly. He paints, not for himself, but for the community of Loyola Academy. He has raised nearly half a million dollars for Loyola through the sale of his paintings. He prays. He gives, constantly.

His life, his way of life, his choices, his values, his words, his peace, his selflessness and his devotion serve as an example of how we can proceed generously, justly, peacefully and lovingly through a world that sometimes makes it very difficult to do so.

About the Author

George Kearney graduated from Loyola Academy in 1995, and then attended Georgetown University and majored in English. He resides in Chicago, where he is presently working to fulfill a 2-year volunteer commitment at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, where he works as a teacher, coach and bus driver. He hopes to make a career out of writing and has begun work on his first novel.