A reflection by Mother Maria-Michael Newe, OSB
It seems to me that people who pursue God faithfully have their priorities straight. Consider St. Paul: his priorities are quite straight. For him, it is always Christ. He does everything to serve the people.
Now being wayward people we are always fluctuating. We will have some days when we are more fervent than others. We will have times during which we may not be as Christian as we want to be. But God always sends someone our way to encourage us; He believes in us. There is nothing God wants more than to encourage us in the ways that we will fulfill, most perfectly, the image of Christ within us. We should strive for that at all times, but don’t be surprised when things don’t go perfectly. That is the lot of man.
In our constant pursuit of this image of Christ within, we will always be rearranging our priorities to keep God in the first place. Prayer, too, must have its priority in our life. All the rest will settle like the dust.
We carry responsibilities in community in the name of God. That means when we pursue our responsibilities we also pursue God. When we embrace what has been given to us to serve the community, whatever it may be – sweeping the hall, doing the dishes, serving the guests, feeding the cattle, pulling weeds – we do it in the name of God. Only God knows the value of each one. It has nothing to do with the work itself but everything to do with the intention. Everything done well and for the glory of God has the highest value. Our responsibilities may change over time but we must always be growing in the way in which we do them: from the heart. When we fulfill our responsibilities for the love of God we will be filled with peace and joy.
At the end of his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul says, “Because I do not love you? God knows, I do.” What a wonderful way to end everything! “God knows, I do.” Carry this with you in whatever you do. Do it for love. There is no greater service. If we do everything out of love, we will shine with the glory of God and our priorities will be straight.