Scripture reading
The King will reply, ‘ I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
–Matthew 25:40
Thought of the Day
Agnes Gonxha felt the call of God on her heart from the age of twelve. She prayed for six years about this desire to give herself completely to God. At the age of eighteen Agnes felt true happiness and joy about her decision and left her family and hometown to join a convent in another country. Not long after that, she transferred to Calcutta, India where she took the name of Teresa. For the rest of her life, Mother Teresa ministered to the sick and poor in the slums of India. Here are some words from this amazing caregiver.
“We serve Jesus. We nurse Him, feed Him, clothe Him, visit Him, comfort Him in the poor, the abandoned, the sick, the orphans, the dying, the people thrown away by society. The closer we are to the poor and sick, the closer we are to Jesus. It is a privilege because in serving them we are really serving Christ Himself.”
When others would ask Mother Teresa about how hard it must be to minister as she did, she would smile and talk to them about suffering and sacrifice. This is what she said.
“Without our suffering, our work would just be social work: very good and helpful, but it would not be the work of Jesus Christ, not part of the redemption of bringing God into the lives of others.”
These are words that we all need to take into our hearts. First we need to remember to serve and reach out to each person as we would Jesus. And when we do it we need to sacrifice and suffer a bit. Social work is great but we are called to do more. We are called to be about the work of Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Father, Help me to reach out to others in Your name. Amen.