You are invited into a life of self-giving

April 6, 2003 -- Fifth Sunday of Lent

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. To whom are you unreservedly responsible? 2. How have you made a difference in the lives of others? 3. What mission has the Lord assigned to you?

Katherine Drexel (1858-1955) was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000. She was the foundress of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious community that served Native Americans and Afro-American people. Born into great wealth, Drexel gave her money to help others especially through education. Thousands upon thousands of people benefited from her generosity and commitment to Gospel values.

Lent
• Lent-related articles  • 2003 Lenten Wish List (3/7 issue)  • Lenten rules (2/28 issue)

Today's Gospel passage speaks about service and bearing fruit. Katherine Drexel brought glory to God, as Jesus did, by a life of obedience and generosity. She was the grain of wheat that died so that others might benefit; she "lost" her life through unreserved dedication in helping the poor. Those who are familiar with her work ("All told she was personally responsible for establishing 145 Catholic missions and 12 schools for Indians, and 50 schools for black students"- cf. Robert Ellsberg's All Saints) realize that here was a true disciple of Jesus.

Katherine Drexel's mission was similar to that of Jeremiah the prophet. He spoke about the future in terms of a new covenant, when people would come to know the mystery of God's love and the power of God's mercy and forgiveness. Drexel's educational program contained that message. She was an evangelist, spreading the good news of God's love made manifest in Jesus. Her schools and missions strove to write upon the hearts of all students the good news of salvation.

St. Paul and Katherine Drexel had one thing in common: friendship with Jesus. Christ was their Lord and Savior. They both understood that the key to discipleship was obedience, doing the Father's will even if that meant suffering and death. For Paul that following of Christ would mean martyrdom; for Drexel, 97 years of dedicated ministry would be her pledge of obedience. They both knew that the source of eternal salvation was not in their good works but in the good news of Jesus whose prayers set them free.

The Gospel verse summarizes our readings: "If you serve me, follow me, says the Lord; and where I am, my servant will also be."

Jeremiah, Paul, Katherine Drexel -- servants all of the living God. But this is a service not of a slave to a master, but a service exercised within the grace of friendship. All of us are invited into this way of life, a life of self-giving that involves prayer, ministry, and sharing. At times we are not up to this generous response and thus stand in need of another level of conversion. Jesus wants to give us a "clean heart," one that is generous and sacrificial. And when this happens we are given "back the joy of salvation."

In 1887 Katherine Drexel has a private audience with Leo XIII and pleaded with him to send missionaries to the people she so deeply cared about. The Pope simply told her to go herself. The giving of her money was not enough. The mission of Jesus demands that we give ourselves away, even to the point of death. So Katherine Drexel founded a religious community that would take her vision and put it into action.

In the classic novel Lord Jim, the author Joseph Conrad puts on the lips of one of his characters these words: "I make myself unreservedly responsible for you." This expression fits well the life of Katherine Drexel, someone who made herself, through grace, responsible for others. Here is a story of discipleship and stewardship.

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)