THE HEART OF A SERVANT
The 2018 Mission Trip Cross
His feet moved throughout Galilee and Judea
Seeking the poor and the sick,
The outcast and the forgotten,
The saint and the sinner.
His eyes looked compassion on the world
And conveyed things that mere words lacked.
Things like gentleness and grace
Love and mercy,
Respect and self-worth.
His ears were attuned
To cries and to laughter,
To prayers and to pleas
To praise and to rejection.
His voice spoke
Against oppression and for inclusion,
Against self-righteousness and for Godliness,
Against the arrogant and for the meek.
His hands reached out
To feed and to forgive,
To heal and to bless,
To wash feet and to wipe away tears.
But . . .
His feet were able to journey,
His eyes were able to see,
His ears were able to hear,
His voice was able to speak
And his hands were able to touch,
Because within this carpenter,
Within this wanderer,
Within this teacher,
Within this healer
Was a heart.
The heart of a servant.
Today we bless and commission the twenty-five teenagers and fourteen adults who will leave tomorrow morning and minister in our name to the people of Dunlow, West Virginia. Each year at this mass, we bestow upon them their mission trip cross, a symbol of who they are, of why they minister, and in whose name they minister. Each year I try to choose a cross which will symbolize a theme, a thought, which I hope each of those going on the mission trip will be reminded of each time they see the cross, touch the cross, wear the cross.
And so, missionaries of St. Therese, in the middle of this year’s cross is a heart with four rays pointing outward from it. Through this cross and throughout the next week may you, like Jesus, possess the heart of a servant - a heart which opens itself without hesitation, gives of itself without reserve, and loves without condition. And along with tools like hammers and saws, drills and screwdrivers, may you use your feet and your eyes, your ears and your voice, your hands and your heart to serve the people in Dunlow. May you take as your model and inspiration he who said:
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” (Mark 9:35)
He who said:
“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
And he who said:
“I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (John 13:15)
