The Least of Us

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'


- Matthew 25:37-40

Reflection
Maybe Lent isn't about beating ourselves up and making ourselves miserable. Maybe it isn't about grovelling and self-flagellation. Maybe it isn't about guilt-trips or not measuring up. What if we think of it instead as being like football players at training camp doing our best to try out to be starting players instead of bench warmers?

What if it's like this story?
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A very moving testimony by the Servant of God, the Baroness Catherine de Hueck Doherty, born in Russia and Foundress of Madonna House in Combermere, Ontario.

When I was growing up in Russia , my father was a diplomat. One time he and my mother gave a big, fancy tea party at our home for several hundred ambassadors and dignitaries. We were in the middle of having formal tea, with everyone using nice china and so forth. I was about nine years old at the time, and I was allowed to be there, all dressed up and carrying little cakes and being polite. Suddenly, the butler opened the door and announced to my father, " Christ is at the door." Well, the French ambassador's wife dropped her expensive tea cup on the rug. She was not used to such interruptions!

Father excused himself, mother excused herself and off they went. And whom did they welcome? A hobo (a homeless beggar) who had come to the door begging. And what did they do? My mother and father served him themselves, even though we had fourteen servants in the house.

My mother laid out the best linen, the most expensive silver and our best china and so forth, and she served a hobo. My father did likewise. I saw all of this and I wanted to serve the hobo too, but Mother said, "Oh, no. You were not obedient last week; you cannot serve Christ unless you are obedient." So, in my little mind, to serve the poor was a great honor and a great joy.

Now that is Christianity. You don't have to have catechism lessons when you see that sort of thing. That was how my parents treated the poor, so that was what my brother and I learned from growing up in that kind of household, thanks be to God.

Of course, I was like any other kid too. I would say, "Well, do we live in a monastery or something like that?" My parents would say, "No. We live in a family, of which Christ is the head." So, in the end, it all seemed quite natural to me to serve the poor. Christ was in the poor and we must serve him.
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I think we can serve Christ even if we aren't fully obedient... but the point is to strive to be at our best so we can be ready to serve.



Prayer
Gracious God, help us to see our savior in the poor and needy and help us to do whatever it takes to get ourselves in spiritual shape so that we're ready to serve Him whenever we're blessed with the opportunity and privilege of serving Him. Amen