We celebrate a great Lenten saint today: St Katherine Drexel. Born in the middle of the 19th century, she grew up in great privilege and wealth. However, her father was a deeply devoted religious man who had a devout prayer life and her mother was very generous in reaching out to the poor. Katherine was called by God to serve the poor and the oppressed of the United States, especially those of native and African ancestry, which she did through the religious order she founded, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. She founded more than 50 Catholic missions for native Americans across 16 states. She also founded Xavier University in New Orleans, a historically African American Catholic University. When I was a member of Sacred Heart parish in Greenville, the site of the first seminary in the US that accepted African American men as seminarians, I was told that the 10 acres of land on which Sacred Heart is located was purchased with money donated by Katherine Drexel. She used her material wealth to serve God and his people. Her legacy is felt today in our own Diocese today. St Katherine Drexel is certainly a great example of faith for all of us.
Like he has done at other times, Jesus criticizes the hypocrisy of the scribes and the Pharisees, admonishing them to leave behind their arrogance and power and to be humble servants instead. We can live out our servanthood in different ways, including the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The holy season of Lent gives us a good opportunity to look to see how we are being servants in our lives of faith, imitating the way Jesus was a servant. Being a servant sometimes means challenging people and saying words that are sometimes difficult for others to hear. How are we reaching out to our brothers and sisters?
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