Sunday, September 15, 2024
Father Mike Schmitz is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and the Newman Center Chaplain and Campus Minister for the University of Minnesota Duluth. A Catholic priest and popular speaker renowned for his approachable style of discussing the Catholic faith, vocations, relationships, morality, and the challenges of living out one’s faith. Check out his videos, podcasts, and articles online if you haven’t yet. In a podcast I listened to this week, he mentioned that the motto for the Newman Center where he serves is “See a need, fill a need.” Many serve our church community, and their involvement is essential to the life and growth of the Church. Members of the church participate in catechesis, pastoral councils, and liturgical ministries, including altar servers, choir members, and Eucharistic ministers. These individuals see a need, and they fill it. Others bring flowers to beautify the altar, serve as greeters and ushers, and volunteer for Youth activities. They, too, see a need and fill it. Occasionally, churches have capital campaigns to repair or replace boilers or roofs, and members fill that need by providing the funds required to maintain church facilities. You can say that these members have also taken up the motto “See a need, fill a need.”
Our New Testament Reading for today is taken from the Letter of James. The Letter’s central theme revolves around the relationship between faith and works, asserting that genuine faith is demonstrated through acts of love and charity toward others. “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” (James 2:14-16). Reflect for a moment on the rhetorical question posed by James: What good is it if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Is my affirmation of faith without loving and serving others sufficient for my salvation? How do I respond when I see others in need? Jesus called out the Religious saying: “they preach but they do not practice.” (Matthew 23:3b).
Society constantly reminds us of self-care. Focusing our attention on our own care and well-being can lead us to close ourselves and become insensitive to the needs of others. The sheer amount of people and needs calling for our attention and resources can be overwhelming. When Jesus was concerned about the well-being of the crowd of five thousand and asked His disciples to feed them, they thought: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” We need to entrust our resources and works to the hands of God when we are stirred to fill needs in our community.
Individually, let us take charge and assume personal responsibility for the needs we can voluntarily and generously engage with. “See a need, fill a need.”
Go in Peace to Love and Serve the Lord.