Spiritual Corner - Gentle, Kind, Respectful, Frugal, and Humble

Although God selected the Jews to be his chosen people, he has not forgotten the people of China. He continues to send the Holy Spirit to sanctify us and the cultural heritage left by so many saints and virtuous people deserves our deep contemplation and reflection today.

Saint Therese of Lisieux in her “Little Way” stated: “Whatever you do, great or small, do it all for the love of Jesus.” In her daily life, she was willing to be humble, and when challenged with difficulties and darkness, she placed complete trust and reliance on God.

The Holy Spirit has inspired us to be “gentle, kind, respectful, frugal, and humble”, and to be humble or yielding can be expressed in many ways. Today, let us discuss this from a practical perspective.

1. Giving up your rightful space: A company has many employees and plenty of parking space. Most of the employees who arrive early park their cars farther away in order to allow those who arrive later to park closer to the company and reduce their need to rush. In the case of our Parish, if those who arrive early for Sunday Mass can park their cars farther away and take a little longer walk, then this will definitely benefit the elderly and mobility-impaired parishioners, and perhaps, may help to ease the current parking problems as well.
2. Humility: While serving in the Church, cooperation and communication among parishioners should be taken from the perspective of the “Church and parish”. It is crucial to practice humility, listening, and non-insistence. After all, God has given you, me, and everyone different upbringings and life experiences, therefore, it is imperative to seek common ground among differences, to serve the Church without insisting on one’s own opinions and to cultivate an environment of mutual understanding. With mutual respect, open, honest communication and tolerance, we will serve our fellow parishioners out of love for Jesus.

In the Church, no matter what we do, big or small, we do it out of love for Jesus. This is the fact. The Holy Spirit has taught us to practice the attitudes of “gentleness, kindness, courtesy, frugality, and humility” towards people and things. What do you think?

Yours,
Sr. Magdalena Yang