Brendan’s story shows the power of service even in small ways, and how that can bring you closer to God. How may God be calling you to serve those in your community and in your church? In what ways will it bring you closer?I completed my junior year service work with the Holy Name Youth Service Project in West Roxbury. After a lot of local service projects and fund raisers, we went on a service trip to New Orleans to help those who, so many years later, are still trying to recuperate from Hurricane Katrina.
Our work was tiring and tough, but it was definitely worth every second. We cleaned trashed lots, painted houses, took down fences, built fences, and helped kids with homework in an after-school program. The residents were amazing—they welcomed us as if we were family, and we couldn’t have been more grateful for all they did for us.
Coming into this service trip, I was a lukewarm Catholic, but in just a short period of time I was closer to God than I had ever been. My service work in New Orleans has left me wanting more. I cannot wait to go back so I can continue what my group started. Volunteer service and the people I have met have changed my life, and now I feel a desire to help change others’ lives.
—Brendan
Brendan’s story shows the power of service even in small ways, and how that can bring you closer to God. How may God be calling you to serve those in your community and in your church? In what ways will it bring you closer?
Look up the prayer “Christ Has No Body” by Saint Teresa of Avila. Read it once focusing on how it references your body. What do your eyes show him? Where do your feet take you to do good? Then read it again, this time meditating on how the prayer could refer to the body of the Church—everyone together. Identify a need in your community or elsewhere. How can you and the people in your life work to be Christ?