Some people’s understanding of prayer change when they read St Teresa of Calcutta’s statement that says, “I used to believe that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us and we change things”. Prayer is not an incantation that can change the will of God. It is the act of raising our hearts and minds to God, and of opening ourselves — our will, our understanding, our joys, and our sorrows — to be sanctified. The prophet Isaiah seems to be saying something similar in the first reading. He lists off the commands of the Lord to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and shelter the homeless, and then tells the faithful that if they do these things, “then your light shall break forth like the dawn”. We certainly serve those who are vulnerable because each person has immeasurable dignity and deserves to be cared for as a child of God. But the act of caring for another also changes us. We are made more fully into who we were created to be — not an individual living in isolation, but one who is deeply connected in community to the rest of humankind.
An act of service, then, is much bigger than simply donating money or giving of our time. In caring for our neighbour, we proclaim God’s goodness to a world in darkness, bearing witness to the love of God which is the source of all our actions. In the Gospel, Christ calls his followers to be “the light of the world”, reminding us that he wants to shine his light through us. But we are not the source of the light. Even when we are the ones serving, we still remain only the vessel the true light shines through. When we love others, we are changed because we allow ourselves to be conformed more closely to Christ, allowing others to encounter his love in our actions.
The corporal works of mercy are to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead. This is not a list meant to overwhelm, but rather to provide opportunities to care for God’s children. What act of service can you and your family engage in this week to allow the light of Christ to shine through you?
