Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Called to Serve - Words to Ponder by Caryll Houselander


Caryll Houselander (1901 - 1954) was a lay Roman Catholic ecclesiastical artist, mystic, religious writer and poet from Bath, England.  I quoted her in the homily at Wednesday’s daily mass about Christian service, in conjunction to the Gospel for the day, which described how Simon Peter's mother-in-law was called to service after she was healed by Jesus.   As we at St Jude Catholic Church are discerning where God is calling us to serve in different ministries in our parish, these words are very wise:  “We could scrub the floor for a tired friend, or dress a wound for a patient in a hospital, or lay the table and wash up for the family; but we shall not do it in martyr spirit or with that worse spirit of self-congratulation, of feeling that we are making ourselves more perfect, more unselfish, more positively kind. We shall do it just for one thing, that our hands make Christ's hands in our life, that our service may let Christ serve through us, that our patience may bring Christ's patience back to the world.”   Through our service in our Church, we are Christ’s hands here on earth.  May the Holy Spirit lead us and guide us to where we are called to serve.  May we serve God and his holy people out of the joy of our faith and out of our humble hearts.

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