Category: Parish News & Events

Last. Who wants to be last? When I was in elementary school, I was not very athletic; well, that hasn’t changed much to be honest. At any rate, when it was time for games in the schoolyard during recess (yes, I just aged myself), I was often picked last or very close to last. At home, it seemed I was also last because I was the oldest and could wait while my younger brothers and sister could not. Yet here I read the words of Jesus, the greatest, the first shall be last and the servant of all. And I think, servant, really? I have education, experience, knowledge about our faith and the Church… and, and, and…

“So what?” That’s what I hear the Holy Spirit say to me, as well as, “what is the point of what you know if you are not willing to do for others?” Our example is Christ himself. For many years I worked in parish ministry. One of my foundational beliefs about asking others to serve in ministry was to not ask people to do something I was unwilling to do myself. In other words, if the kitchen needed to be cleaned, I didn’t watch the kitchen crew work, I helped clean. For me, there was no saying, “That’s not my job.” Now, compared to what Christ did for us, dying on a cross, I realize cleaning the kitchen is not the same. What is the same though, is the humility we are called to in life and in our vocation. While the circumstances of our life may change, we are always called to humility, called to serve, called to put ourselves last. And we are to do it out of love. 

Now, you may think, “Why do I need to serve and be last? What about other people?” We are all called to serve in the way that we are uniquely called and gifted. The ideal is for each of us to live out our unique calling with others who are doing the same so that what happens is we care for each other. No one person is asked to bear more than is reasonable. Yes, it is an ideal. Can it happen? Possibly with a shift in attitude and behavior. If we were to take Jesus’ words to heart and start living them out, it can happen. And of course, the first person to start is me. That is humility and service, putting the Gospel into practice. That is the way to live not lukewarm.

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“Like billowing clouds, like the incessant gurgling of the brook, the longing of the spirit can never be stilled”. (St. Hildegard of Bingen)

I love this group of readings! Especially the Responsorial Psalm with the Gospel. We repeat the words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!” right before we hear of Christ’s followers. His followers were not perfect people. Mary Magdalene had seven demons driven out of her, there were other women who had been cured of sickness and evil spirits as well. These were women who wanted to be healed, and who had been healed by the love and mercy of Christ. Our tendency when we hear “Blessed are the poor in spirit” is to ask “Why would I want to be poor in spirit? Doesn’t that mean I lack faith?” Quite the opposite, actually. To be poor in spirit is to recognize your own spiritual poverty before the Lord. It is to recognize the need for God and the need for His love and mercy. So indeed, blessed are those who recognize their need for the Lord and live their lives in pursuit of unity with Him! 

The First Reading tells us how to be poor in spirit. That is, we are to avoid anything which goes against the teachings of Christ, we are to avoid riches so as not to distract ourselves from the pursuit of holiness. Instead, we should be seeking “righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness”. We should follow the example of Christ who, in his ministry, exemplified righteous anger, devotion to the Father, faith in the Father’s plan, love for all people, patience with his followers, and gentleness with those to whom He interacted. 

May we, like Christ Himself as well those who followed Him while he was on earth, put our full faith and trust in his love and mercy.

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