By DEXTER DUGGAN
PHOENIX — People are made to be servants of God and of one another, a local pastor told a Lenten reflection for members of the Catholic Physicians Guild here, held at Phoenix diocesan headquarters.
It’s rare to see a very demanding person who’s happy, but frequent to see a person with a mentality of service being happy, Fr. Dale Craig, a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT), told the medical professionals.
If parents want their children to be happy, “send them off to the missions for a year,” either as a “gap” year in college, or after college, said Craig, wearing the gray SOLT robe, during the March 24 reflection. “Their hearts are transformed” for the rest of their lives.
The event began after 10 a.m. and lasted until 3 p.m., including Craig’s talks, a Mass he celebrated in the diocesan center’s chapel, lunch, and afternoon opportunity for Confession.
Craig, pastor of Most Holy Trinity Church here, told of an elderly, bedridden priest who nevertheless greeted visitors by asking, “How can I serve you?” In his case, it could be providing spiritual counseling or Confession, Craig said.
St. John Paul II had said that when people give a sincere gift of themselves, then they know who they truly are, Craig said, adding, “We cannot have relationship without giving.
God the Father so loved the world that He gave His Son, Craig said, and the Son gave His life, even though everyone treated Jesus unjustly.
It’s not easy to serve, the priest said, noting that even Jesus’ apostles disputed among themselves as to who was the greatest.
“Couldn’t He have chosen better apostles?. . . In our sin, we have original weakness,” Craig said, adding that among children anywhere in the world, regardless of their nation or culture, some of their first words are “No” and “Mine.”
This is because original sin means original selfishness, he said.
“To be a servant, we have to learn to deny ourselves. . . . We can grow in ways that we never thought we could,” Craig said. “. . . We have to be those persons who humble ourselves and serve one another.”
After Mass and lunch, Craig said, “The more we live our life as a servant, the better life is,” whether at home, on the street, or in the store. “It’s recognizing the dignity of all people.”
Christ played three major roles, as teacher, healer, and exorciser of demons, while “His single greatest work was His Passion,” the priest said.
The Hebrews in the desert were punished “because they forgot the goodness of the Lord,” Craig said, explaining that their recalcitrance delayed their progress. “If they wouldn’t have complained, they would have gotten through that desert in about 30 days….When we live by our emotions, we can do all kind of foolish things.”
He said that Our Lady of Fatima said the greatest task Our Lord wants for people is to accept their daily duties. “That’ll often be your first cross every day,” getting up early to pray, Craig said.
During the first year or year and a half of his priesthood, Craig said, he was mad one day with all the pressures of service, and he joked in the chapel to the Lord, “Now I know where all those grumpy old priests come from.” Then he realized he was looking at people as a burden rather than an opportunity to serve.
Christ’s human will rejected the cross, but He said “not my will but thine be done,” Craig said.
Accepting this burden won’t be easy for other people, and it wasn’t easy even for the apostles, he said. “Even John ran.” But John and Peter were the first to come back.
Mentioning the classic phrase about the triumph of Easter overcoming the suffering of Good Friday, Craig said, “Friday’s here, but Sunday’s coming.”
Upon His Resurrection, Craig said, all of Jesus’ wounds were gone except for the Five Wounds as a memorial of His love for humanity.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress