Every time I attend the evening mass on Holy Thursday commemorating the Lord's Last Supper I miss my father dearly. The washing of feet reminds me of how I used to wash his feet. Looking back, caring for my father in his last days was my rite of passage into Christian adulthood. I grew up fast, in a very painful manner, but the lessons have stuck.
Life is all about love and love is all about service. Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus shows us the way in how He lived His life to the excruciating end. As His follower, I can only look for the many ways in a day where I can attempt to imitate His behaviour, especially by saying yes to unglamorous, humbling and thankless acts of service, without losing my passion to serve.
This Lent has been a rewarding for by giving up indifference, I have had to reach out and connect with many people, some I would not have normally done so. I have found the time both fruitful and joyous even though it has been physically exhausting, and my prayer time suffered for it (that's my excuse, anyway).
Today, Father Bosco shared how in a private interview with Blessed Mother Teresa when she was in Singapore, she answered a question posed by a seminarian on how to discern whether it was God's will, she simply said: Just do it. Rather than pondering if something is the right thing to do when it comes to being like Christ, and thereby missing an opportunity to serve, one should just roll up one's sleeves and get one's hands soiled.
I think Blessed Mother Teresa, like Christ, knew exactly what to do is because both of them spent solid time in prayer. Their commitment to prayer meant they knew what the Father wanted, pretty much all the time, I reckon, and they both could go the distance with innate grace, and graciousness. Thus, I need to recommit myself to real prayer time, not forgoing quality either, always a struggle for me. I may know what is asked of me, but I am not always the gracious giver I would like to be.
The Passion narrative today reminds me how I will never be able to match Jesus in self-sacrificial love, and how often I am, instead, the ungrateful, faithless and bloodthirsty mob. But since I have been personally marked by the redemptive love of Jesus, I will always do my best to walk the way He did. That today is not just Good Friday but the Feast of the Annunciation is truly special. I am grateful that Mother Mary said yes to being the mother who would suffer untold sorrow this very day, and to Jesus who said yes to dying on the cross today. Their obedience moves me to do the same: to love and serve, and serve with love.
Father, may I always have the strength to drink the bitter cup.
Life is all about love and love is all about service. Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus shows us the way in how He lived His life to the excruciating end. As His follower, I can only look for the many ways in a day where I can attempt to imitate His behaviour, especially by saying yes to unglamorous, humbling and thankless acts of service, without losing my passion to serve.
This Lent has been a rewarding for by giving up indifference, I have had to reach out and connect with many people, some I would not have normally done so. I have found the time both fruitful and joyous even though it has been physically exhausting, and my prayer time suffered for it (that's my excuse, anyway).
Today, Father Bosco shared how in a private interview with Blessed Mother Teresa when she was in Singapore, she answered a question posed by a seminarian on how to discern whether it was God's will, she simply said: Just do it. Rather than pondering if something is the right thing to do when it comes to being like Christ, and thereby missing an opportunity to serve, one should just roll up one's sleeves and get one's hands soiled.
I think Blessed Mother Teresa, like Christ, knew exactly what to do is because both of them spent solid time in prayer. Their commitment to prayer meant they knew what the Father wanted, pretty much all the time, I reckon, and they both could go the distance with innate grace, and graciousness. Thus, I need to recommit myself to real prayer time, not forgoing quality either, always a struggle for me. I may know what is asked of me, but I am not always the gracious giver I would like to be.
Father, may I always have the strength to drink the bitter cup.
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