“Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” MT 20: 28

 

In Christianity, the word discernment may have several meanings.  It can describe the process of determining God’s desire in a situation. Discernment can explain the process that each of us goes through to determine what God wants us to do with the gifts we have been blessed with.  Finally, this word can be used in identifying the true nature of whether something is good, evil, or perhaps both.  In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than a process of making careful decisions and distinctions in our thinking about truth.  Our vocational call is to bear witness to our God who is Truth.  Therefore, as His children, we are called to live in His truth.  In Jesus, the whole of God’s truth has been made clear.  The disciple of Jesus continues in His word so as to know and be set apart to live in “the Spirit of truth.”  Is this what we wish for ourselves?  If we say yes, do we understand what we are asking?

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals the reality of being His disciple.  This truth provides all of us the insight to grow and mature in our relationship with God while learning from the mistakes we make along the way.  Today, the Church remembers the life of St Katharine Drexel.  A daughter of extremely wealthy parents who were entrepreneurs and philanthropists, St Katharine was taught from an early age to use her wealth for the benefit of others; her parents even opened their home to the poor several days each week. St Katharine's older sister, Elizabeth, founded a Pennsylvania trade school for orphans while her younger sister founded a liberal arts and vocational school for poor blacks in Virginia. St Katharine nursed her mother through a fatal three-year illness before setting out on her own to answer God’s call with her life.

 

I wonder if the conversation from today’s Gospel that Jesus had with the mother of James and John entered into St Katharine’s mind during an audience in 1887 with Pope Leo XIII?  Interested in the condition of Native Americans, St Katharine asked to have more missionaries sent to Wyoming for her friend, Bishop James O'Connor. The pope replied, "Why don't you become a missionary?"  

 

Not waiting on others to answer the call, St Katharine went and visited the Dakotas, met the Sioux chief, and began her systematic aid to Indian missions, eventually spending millions of the family fortune. St Katharine entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy and founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1891. By 1942 she had a system of black Catholic schools in 13 states, 40 mission centers, 23 rural schools, 50 Indian missions, and Xavier University in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first United States university for blacks.

 

The disciple of Jesus continually discerns and then consents to “live in the truth,” that is, in the simplicity of a life in conformity with the Lord’s example, abiding in His truth.  An early Church Father summed up Jesus' teaching with the expression "to serve is to reign with Christ". We can share in God's reign by laying down our lives in humble service of one another as Jesus did for our sake. Are we ready to lay down our life and to serve others as Jesus did? What do you wish?

 

"Lord Jesus, make me a servant of love for your kingdom, that I may seek to serve rather than be served. Inflame my heart with your love that I may give generously and serve others joyfully for your sake."

 

May God’s Grace and Blessings Always be with you and yours!!  Our Lady of Guadalupe – Pray for us!!  

 

Yours in Christ,

Deacon Bob

St. Clare of Assisi

Houston, TX