Loving Servant to the Weakest: 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year B

What lies at the heart of Christian discipleship? The interweaving of charity and service, that is. Last week St. James reminded us how faith and work must go together. Both had to work together. Otherwise, our faith is meaningless. This week we get an illustration as to why they are both needed to evangelize through our actions.

I remember growing up and going into my first year of high school when Hurricane Katrina hit. The high school I attended was going to send a group of students in the springtime to aid in the repair and rebuilding efforts in the area affected by the natural disaster. What followed was an opportunity to understand what mercy is all about. The faculty and students who embarked on the two-week journey came back different. They had a better understanding of why service plays an important part in our faith. Sadly, I was hoping to have been a part of this endeavor when I got to my junior and senior years. Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be. Yet, when I conversed with my peers who did have the life-changing experience, they were forever different.

A sister wrote a song that is commonly played during school liturgies called “Circle of Mercy”. The poignant song reminds us about how mercy teaches us how to love those who are in need. The refrain tells us that it is timeless, “It is the Spirit of Life itself. Which roots us in faith, and lifts us in hope, and holds us in God’s loving care”

The writer of the song reminds us that Christ showed mercy through his sacrificial love and service. As a monsignor in my archdiocese puts it, “We are formed in his love and by his love, to love others and to follow him on the path of life. Service is part of who we are.”

Catholics are called to serve. They do this by emptying everything they have to follow Jesus. He wants our all. He wants us to show others his love.