Serve

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Nocturne (Gethsemane) (Allen Memorial Art)

Sometimes I get really tired.  Physical tiredness is one thing, but there is a deep-tiredness that comes with giving that is really another thing altogether.

The tiredness that I am referring to is the tiredness of a parent who works and cooks and cleans and cares for the emotional troubles of their child.  It is the tiredness of fitting in competing interests and agendas and making sure that everyone feels that they received a sufficient piece of that parent.  It is one thing to make the lunches and quite another to ensure that the children feel full and fed.

It is that constant caring that causes a sort of tiredness in a parent that can be akin to bone-weariness.

Now, if a person is not a parent this does not mean that they cannot experience this same sort of weariness.  People who have to manage competing interests and agendas are prone to this sort of tiredness.

And I have been reflecting on this when compared with the infinite Holy Will of God.  You see, God wishes that we should serve each other.  He tells us that we are to love our neighbour as ourselves and to love our enemy…

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31).

God is asking us to serve others and to be charitable.  He is not asking us to look inward, rather God is asking us to look at others and unselfishly give of ourselves.

And this means that at times we may feel tired.  At times I may feel a deep bone-weariness.

Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote to her spiritual advisor explaining that she often felt very tired and her bones ached and her back ached from long days of standing and kneeling and tending to the poorest of the poor.  And yet she continued to give – even into her old age – because she knew that the greatest of all the virtues is CHARITY…

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Saint Josemaria used the example of a donkey to prove his point about giving and a generous heart.  He explained that though there are animals far more majestic and beautiful than a humble donkey, God rode on a donkey twice – into Bethlehem and again into Jerusalem.  And in doing so, He was accepting the labour of a humble little donkey, who cheerfully goes about its work at a trot, giving with a strength and endurance matched by few other animals.

And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about how best to serve my Lord and God.  For it seems to me that the only way to serve God in this way is to become a donkey for all the souls on earth who need a bit of help.  It is surely not a glamorous role, but certainly one that God may choose to make use of as He has made use of before…

And what a Grace that would be – to serve the Lord as a donkey for His people…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.