Written by Barb Spies, OFS, Director of Mission Services and Pastoral Care

We had some beautiful opportunities for service last week as the leadership team at Felician Village. You may have seen in our social media posts how we celebrated the Day of Service in honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Felician Sisters’ arrival in North America. We continue to celebrate this anniversary through November. For September, each ministry was asked to offer a day of serving others beyond the walls of the ministry itself. Our leadership team offered the equivalent of fourteen hours of service at Peter’s Pantry (2 hours times 7 people), sorting food for their guests. I received a lovely call from their leadership in gratitude for the number of hours of work saved by having our leadership help them.

A second opportunity to serve, closer to home, was just across the street at the Sisters’ Cemetery. We had started the cleanup work for this cemetery last month connected with a prayer service honoring those Sisters who have gone before us to their eternal reward. Though we were able to clean many of the Sisters’ headstones, there were still about one third that needed work. In addition, and in line with the Sisters’ mission, we cleaned each headstone for those buried in the section of the cemetery reserved for those without funds, without family, without an option for such a lovely burial site. As the Sisters clearly cared so much for these individuals, we also offered our care for their resting place.

In humility we generally keep such service to ourselves. To name the work seems like patting ourselves on the back. However, I like to see such stories about others and interpret them as a way of motivating others to similar service. When people see the joy of serving, it provides inspiration to participate in comparable activities. If we cannot do the physical work of volunteering, we can offer financial support. We can always find a way to serve.  

This coming weekend, on October 4, we celebrate the Feast of St. Francis. Francis, in his care for the lepers, the poor, and all of creation, offers a beautiful model of living out the Gospel. It is appropriate that his feast day begins our Mission and Heritage Week, when we celebrate the mission of our ministry and the history of the ministry’s service to God’s people.

Blessed Angela: “Jesus wants us to serve Him with a joyful heart.”