Blessed are the Servants of The Lord

Tuesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

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Gospel of Luke 12:35-38

Jesus said to his disciples: “Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival."

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Ursula, patron saint of students and patronness of the Order of Ursulines founded By Saint Angela Merici.  I wish I had been raised Catholic as a teen and attended the prestigious Ursuline Academy in Dallas, TX.  Many of its alumni have gone on to become amazing leaders in their chosen career fields. I've never known an Ursuline woman who wasn't beautiful on the inside and the outside!

I really love the Ten Tips from the Life of Saint Ursula mentioned in a post on the "Backlit With Joy" blog, written by the Ursuline Sisters vocation team.  

1.  Dream big.

2.  Trust your dreams.

3.  Keep your eyes on the prize [Jesus] no matter what.

4.  Listen to you heart.

5.  Listen to the hearts of those around you.

6.  Surround yourself with others who love God.

7.  Be a bold disciple of Jesus.

8.  Be faithful to your call.

9.  Pursue holiness.

10. Hold nothing back.

To be a authentic servant of Christ demands a lot out of us.  We must be prepared for trials and tribulations as well as insults and indifference!  We cannot hold ourselves back when it comes to spreading the good news.  Our secular world makes it much more challenging, and often awkward, to live a life based on chastity, humility, charity, and love for others.  

I can see the anti-Christian sentiments raging on and on with words such as......

The world tells us to live big!  Be all you can be!  Do whatever you want when you want!  Spread propaganda everywhere so Christians will be too scared to practice their faith.  Allow people to fornicate and suffocate themselves into oblivion.  There's no such thing as a servant of God...it's more like a servant of the self.  The self rules!

Okay, yes, this is extreme.  Hopefully readers get the point....  All of the ignorance in the world, all the widespread panic, and all of the cruelty stems from a lack of care.  In a Christ "less" world, people don't see the beauty of the human being.  They only see the person as someone to use for another's benefit. 

I sometimes look back at the Middle Ages and think, "Wow!  So many Saints emerged from that time period.  The Christian church was still persecuted but society in general was much more religious.  What happened?  Why the downside?  Is it because Americans are wealthier than ever and value the dollar over the communion cup?  Is it because of hypocritical behaviors by a minority has caused  an aversion to religion in the majority?  Is it that people just simply don't give a crud anymore?"

We are servants of our employer; servants of our spouses; servants of our children; servants of our elderly family members; and even servants of ourselves!  However, why don't we become servants of the Lord, too?  I guarantee taking on such a role will help us be "servants" to others in a more compassionate and loving way.  We will begin to turn away from all of the worldly trash scaring us into useless worry.  We will see that there is a God watching after us.  Every move we make, and every breath we take, is guided by the works of the Holy Spirit.  When we serve others on God's behalf, we reap the benefits.  All of the negativity in our post-Christian world may still bother us, but we will not allow it to completely destroy us.

Take a few moments today to pray to Our Lord.  How can you become a better servant of Christ?  Keep your light lit and remain vigilant! 

Saint Ursula, Pray for Us!

-J.