Does your parish ...
call its members to service both within the community and beyond?
In Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI reminded us that people listen ‘more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if [we do] listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses’ (§41).
What he recognised here was a basic of human life: that the teaching becomes more powerful and persuasive when it is lived from the heart.
Service has always been at the heart of the Gospel. Following the example of Christ who gave his life ‘as a ransom for many’ (Mt 20:28), disciples are called to give their life away in service to ‘the least of these’: to the poor and vulnerable, to the marginalised and all who exist on the peripheries of society, because by serving them we serve Christ himself (Mt 25:40).
Here are a few things to bear in mind as you seek to grow a vibrant culture of service in your community.
Not just serving, but being a neighbour. As in the parable of the good Samaritan, we are called not simply to love our neighbour, we are called to be a neighbour and show the same mercy to those in need that the Samaritan showed (Lk 10:25-37). Christ’s whole life was and is a model of servant love.
Service and spiritual health. A flourishing culture of service is crucial to the spiritual health of a vibrant faith community. It not only witnesses to Christ, but it offers pathways and opportunities for people to cultivate an attitude of service. It allows them to deepen their faith, experience of the Gospel way, and even discover their vocational gifts that can be placed in service within and outside of their community.
Collaborating with others. Partnering with other communities and agencies may be a sustainable way of creating pathways for parishioners to get involved and be servants to their local communities. The Archdiocese of Melbourne is blessed with so many Catholic social service agencies designed to serve the most marginalised in our communities. Explore what agencies exist in your area. And if neighbouring parish communities are doing something, reach out to collaborate!