To Be a Good Servant of God

“To be a good servant of God, means having patience with yourself in your daily failings and peacefully tolerating your neighbour with all his or her imperfections.” St. Francis de Sales

I recently needed to travel to another city for a wedding. I had booked the ticket on the airplane for the quick 45-minute flight quite some time beforehand. I thought I would save time and hassle by flying. I got it wrong. When I got to the airport, flights were delayed, canceled, or rerouted. Staff failed to appear for shifts and maintenance was at a snail’s pace. I looked around the lounge and saw forlorn looks on everyone’s faces. It was a sight to behold. It made me sad. Post-pandemic: I thought everything would simply return to ‘normal’ but that was not to be. I find there is more chaos than anything and apathy is everywhere around me. I wondered during the pandemic how it would end at some point, but I never bet on such turmoil. It was easy to get frustrated and my first reaction was to write a letter of complaint to the airline. Complaining is not always the best thing to do first. Maybe it is time to pray.

“The best used hour in our lives is that in which we love Jesus the most.”  St. Charles de Foucauld

We do not use our time wisely. I certainly do not. I wish I could use my time for Christ. Often, I feel like a car with my wheels spinning in the mud. Recently, I had to say farewell to my international students who returned to their home countries. It is quite beautiful to see how much they have improved, not only in English, but also in their outlook on life. I can easily complain that they all departed but, more than that, I could look at it in a positive way. I host many international students and watching them mature and grow is much more important for me.

Christian perfection consists in three things: praying heroically, working heroically, and suffering heroically. St. Anthony Mary Claret

Two feast days come to my mind today. One is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He died in 1925 of polio, the same disease that he would minister to while he helped the poor or Turin. A remarkable young man, popular, athletic, and wealthy. Yet, he realized what was important in life for him – Christ. He was quite involved in the Catholic life in Italy. He joined the Dominican Tertiaries, and he did not let his parents know how much he did for the poor. Pope John Paul II canonized him noting that Pier Giorgio did not give into the temptations of youth, but he maintained his focus on Christ. John Paul II said, “He (Pier Giorgio) testifies that holiness is possible for everyone.”

Another saint is St. Elizabeth of Portugal. She married King Diniz of Portugal when she was 12. She suffered years of abuse and adultery, yet she prayed for her husband’s conversion and soul. After her husband died, she gave her patrimony to the poor and entered a monastery of the Poor Clares. She tried to mitigate a battle at Estremoz, Portugal. She was successful. These are two examples of people who used their time wisely to help others through their faith in Christ.

Be sure that you first preach by the way you live.  If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.  St. Charles Borromeo

I was recently asked by a friend why people go to Church. It was an odd and out of the blue question, but it really was quite beautiful. Maybe everyone has their reasons for going to mass weekly or daily, but I would say that without daily mass for me, I do not know where I would end up. Recently, I had to help at a centre that helps others with special needs. I have a family member who goes there, and it was beautiful to see such dedication. I thought about the great saints who continued to battle injustice and indifference in the world around them. They managed to be strong in the face of adversity. I want to be like that despite all my limitations.

The devil frequently fills our thoughts with great schemes, so that instead of putting our hands to what work we can do to serve our Lord, we may rest satisfied with wishing to perform impossibilities. St. Teresa of Avila

It is easy to fall prey to thoughts that might invade our minds. However, those thoughts do not come from God. We allow our minds to be distracted with silly, unimportant things. Some great feast days are coming in the month of July. Many of these saints are examples for all of us to look at. Whenever I visit my friends in the Carmelite monastery or at some of the other monasteries I have visited, I realize many things about the life they live. One important thing I noticed is the lack of distraction with which they live. We need to return to prayer and make time for Christ. He is waiting for us. We have much to learn.

Arm yourself with prayer rather than a sword, wear humility rather than fine clothes. St. Dominic