Humility and Gratitude

by David Lins  |  01/05/2020  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

What if I told you there was a member of the staff who has worked tirelessly at Our Lady of Joy for 30 years? What if I told you he never asks for recognition? What if I told you we all directly benefit from his hard work? (Side note: How many of you knew this without seeing a mention in the bulletin a few weeks ago?)

There are people in our lives who take care of so many things we take for granted.

I am a blessed man. I come home to a cooked meal most nights. Yet, because I'm a man and my stomach is a pretty direct route to my heart, I always notice. But I admit I don't notice many other things my amazing wife takes care of while I'm working at Our Lady of Joy.

Speaking of Our Lady of Joy, I often enjoy a quiet moment in the chapel, but I rarely think about who keeps it spotless. I enjoy walking the campus, a campus so beautiful that it feels as much like a retreat center as a very active parish, but I rarely ponder who keeps it looking exceptional.

This (and so much more) is taken care of by our maintenance team, headed by Lupe Castro, a man who has quietly served our parish for three decades. He is truly a blessing to our parish.

There are two lessons we can learn from Lupe's example: humility and gratitude.

We need to examine our motives. Do we do the right thing for the Lord in an effort to shine light on His goodness? Or do we do the right thing in hopes that others will notice and validate our goodness? True humility desires only to shine a light on our Lord. Frankly, when I get to work first thing in the morning and see Lupe is already here, cleaning and preparing the campus for another day, I am reminded of how God prepares each day for us. Which brings me to…

We must thank God for the seen and unseen. The deeper we dive into prayer and the sacraments, the more we recognize God's provision. Yet, we will never scratch the surface of understanding all he has done, does, and will do for us.

This week, let's go out of our way to thank God for the seen and unseen. (And do the same for Lupe if you see him.)