Supreme Chaplain's Monthly Challenge

September 2018

“Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, ‘If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.’ (Gospel for Sept. 22, Mk. 9:35)

When I was in seminary, I had a roommate who was an early riser. Every morning his loud alarm went off at 5:15, at which point he’d say the same thing: “Gladly, Jesus, gladly!” My comments went in a different direction. Let’s be honest. In a selfish, me-first world, it’s just as hard to hear Jesus say “the first shall be last” as it was to hear my roommate at 5:15. And yet, my brothers, Jesus calls us to be servants of all; to step out of our comfort zone and say “gladly!” as we go to serve others in our lives. ‘Gladly, Jesus, gladly!’ 

Challenge by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop William E. Lori:

This month I challenge you to become even more like Jesus, the “servant of all,” by making an act of charity for someone in your life from whom you have been distant, or whom you have wronged. Secondly I challenge you to prayerfully reflect on these words from Scripture: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another” (I Jn. 4:11).