The Call to Charity

My children are absolutely terrible housemates.

They never clean up their messes before going on to making more. They don’t make any meals, sort any laundry, contribute in any way financially to the home, and yet, I am perpetually in service to them. I know that if I actually actively thought of them this way, it would be incredibly hard to serve them.

But the truth is, I love them despite what they can do or provide. I love and serve them because they are children of God placed in my close circle of care and due to their mere existence, they deserve the love that I am able to give.

It’s interesting, isn’t it? When we meet someone new we ask them what they do. It might not be our intention, but our world naturally focuses on what someone can do for others. It asks, what do you contribute to society? But as Christians we are called to see and trust in something and someone beyond our comprehension and to love those who are near and far from us simply because of their status as creation of the Creator.

In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8). We do not know the why, or where from, or where to of the Holy Spirit, but we do not need to know all the details.

We just need to trust that the Lord is calling us to live the Christian life of charity and love all those held within the realm of creation because we love God from Whom all creation flows. Be it the poor who have no monetary gift to offer, or the friend who is suffering and cannot offer you emotional support, or the marginalized who do not speak the language of Christianity that you know so well, or the child who asks for the tenth time this hour for help of some kind, we are called to love all of them.

This Saint for the day implemented sweeping reforms with love for all.

Jacqueline Skemp is a daughter, sister, wife, and mother who endures living in Minnesota after leaving California for her one true love. You can find out more about her here.