Saint Louis washes the feet of a beggar, Illumination from the Grandes Chroniques de France (14th century), National Library of France (Paris)

Jesus understood how to be great. He told James and John, and He tells us, that greatness comes through service. On the night of the Last Supper, before Jesus gave us His Body and Blood, He washed the feet of His disciples, and then gave them and us this mandate: what you have seen me do, you also must do. That was the path to greatness. Think about St. Teresa of Calcutta. She died in 1997, so most of us have been blessed to have been witnesses to some of her life. Everyone would admit that she was a great lady. But how did she become great? She became great by emptying herself to serve the poorest of the poor, first in Kolkata (Calcutta) and then throughout the world. Think about people you know that you can say with confidence that he or she is a great person. My guess is that a person is someone who continually reaches out to other people. Someone is sick, he or she is there. Someone is having a difficult day, he or she is there. Someone needs help with a difficult job, he or she does not even need to be asked. You see, genuinely great people have learned how to be great from Jesus Christ, the Greatest of All Time. All of us have different gifts. We have a responsibility to develop our gifts in service to the Lord. What can I do best? What do you do best? Some people are capable of caring for the incarcerated with mercy, compassion and justice. Others have a great deal of empathy for the sick. Still others have a heart for the poor. Some are capable of teaching. Others are great parents not just to their own children but to those orphaned by the circumstances of their lives. We all have many talents. Our talents are given to us to serve others. We are called to develop these talents. We are called greatness.

The Lord understands our failures, our limitations, our fears, the times that we lack confidence in ourselves to do His work. He sees this, but He also sees so much more. He sees our talent. He sees our love. He sees our determination to seek Him out in others and serve His Presence. Some people think that because of situations in their past, they will never be good enough to bring Christ to others. Perhaps we all have those thoughts at time. We need to stop ourselves from that way of thinking. Christ has called us to be his disciples. We are Christians. We did not take Christianity on ourselves. We were given this Grace freely by the Lord. We are good enough! He makes us good enough! It is not the size of a person’s entourage that demonstrates that he or she is great. It is not the position of authority that a person holds that demonstrates his or her greatness. True greatness come from Jesus Christ. He calls us to be people of service. It is through service that every one of us is capable of becoming the best version of ourselves • AE

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St. Joseph Catholic Church (Dilley, TX) • Weekend Schedule

Fr. Agustin E. (Parish Administrator)

Saturday October 19, 2024.

(exceptionally) 4.00 p.m. Sacramento de la Confesión

(exceptionally) 5.00 p.m. Santa Misa.

PARISH FALL FESTIVAL! 6.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m.

…

Sunday, October 20, 2024

8.00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation

8.30 a.m. Holy Mass.

10.30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation.

11.00 a.m. Holy Mass.

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XXIX DOMINGO DEL TIEMPO ORDINARIO (CICLO B)

El que quiera ser grande entre ustedes que sea su servidor, y el que quiera ser el primero, que sea el esclavo de todos ¿Qué eco pueden tener estas palabras de Jesús en la sociedad actual? Nadie quiere ser hoy grande ni héroe ni santo. Basta con triunfar, asegurándonos una buena calidad de vida, éxito profesional y un bienestar afectivo suficiente. El ideal no es crecer y ser persona. Lo importante es sentirse bien, cuidar la salud, gestionar bien el stress, no complicarse la vida y desde luego tener una buena presencia en redes sociales. Lo inteligente es vivir a gusto, tener siempre algo interesante que hacer o contar. Ser…un triunfador (?)

Y, ¿los demás? ¿Quién piensa en los demás? Lo que haga cada uno es cosa suya. No vamos a metemos en la vida de los otros. Hay que ser tolerantes. Lo importante es no hacer daño a nadie. Respetar siempre a todos. Eso sí, a ser posible, es mejor vivir sin tener que depender de los demás. Mantener una sana independencia sin quedar presos de ningún vínculo exigente. Hay que ser hábil y no asumir compromisos, responsabilidades o cargas que luego no nos dejarán vivir a gusto.

¿Servir a los demás? Un triunfador no entiende exactamente qué quiere decir servir. Más bien tiende a servirse de los demás y a utilizarlos para sus intereses y juegos. Pero ¿qué es triunfar en la vida? Con frecuencia, este individuo autosuficiente y triunfador termina sintiéndose más frágil y perdido que lo que nunca pudo pensar. Poco a poco, puede uno quedarse sin raíces ni fuerza interior, centrado en uno mismo, encerrado en la soledad de su propio corazón. El riesgo de todo triunfador es caer derribado por su falta de amor.

Jesús es muy claro en el evangelio de este domingo. De sus palabras podríamos deducir que si alguien quiere triunfar en la vida, ha de saber amar, salir de su narcisismo, abrir los ojos y ser sensible al sufrimiento de los demás. No es una piadosa consideración cristiana. Podría ser que mientras creemos estar triunfando en la vida, podríamos estarla estropeando cada día un poco más. Nadie es triunfador si no hace más feliz la vida de los demás • AE

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