Opening
There is a particular kind of work that seems to disappear almost as soon as it is done.
A meal is prepared and eaten. A floor is swept and becomes dirty again. A machine is repaired, and everyone promptly forgets that it was ever broken. Much of the work that sustains ordinary life is noticed only when somebody fails to do it.
This morning, Our Lord speaks of a servant who returns from a day’s labor and finds that more work awaits him. It is a strange little parable, and not especially flattering to our modern expectations of recognition and reward.
On the memorial of Saint Leo the Great, who bore the immense responsibilities of the papacy in a troubled century, we consider what it means to serve faithfully without making ourselves the center of the story.
May this morning’s prayer teach us to recognize the dignity of duty, the freedom of humility, and the extraordinary privilege of having something good to do.
Opening Verse
Lord, open my lips.
And my mouth shall declare thy praise.
Invitatory
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ, the Chief Shepherd, who guides His people through faithful servants.
Psalm 94 (95) — Venite, exultemus
Come let us praise the Lord with joy: let us joyfully sing to God our saviour.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving; and make a joyful noise to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
For in his hand are all the ends of the earth: and the heights of the mountains are his.
For the sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.
Come let us adore and fall down: and weep before the Lord that made us.
For he is the Lord our God: and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.
Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts:
As in the provocation, according to the day of temptation in the wilderness: where your fathers tempted me, they proved me, and saw my works.
Forty years long was I offended with that generation, and I said: These always err in heart.
And these men have not known my ways: so I swore in my wrath that they shall not enter into my rest.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Come, let us adore Christ, the Chief Shepherd, who guides His people through faithful servants.
Psalmody
First Psalm — Psalm 100 (101)
The prayer of a just ruler
Antiphon: I will sing of mercy and judgment, and walk before the Lord with an innocent heart.
Mercy and judgment I will sing to thee, O Lord: I will sing,
And I will understand in the unspotted way, when thou shalt come to me. I walked in the innocence of my heart, in the midst of my house.
I did not set before my eyes any unjust thing: I hated the workers of iniquities.
The perverse heart did not cleave to me: and the malignant, that turned aside from me, I would not know.
The man that in private detracted his neighbour, him did I persecute. With him that had a proud eye, and an unsatiable heart, I would not eat.
My eyes were upon the faithful of the earth, to sit with me: the man that walked in the perfect way, he served me.
He that worketh pride shall not dwell in the midst of my house: he that speaketh unjust things did not prosper before my eyes.
In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land: that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity from the city of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: I will sing of mercy and judgment, and walk before the Lord with an innocent heart.
Old Testament Canticle — Daniel 3
The Prayer of Azarias in the Furnace
Antiphon: Withdraw not thy mercy from us, O Lord, but receive the offering of a humble and contrite heart.
Blessed art thou, O Lord, the God of our fathers, and thy name is worthy of praise, and glorious for ever:
For thou art just in all that thou hast done to us, and all thy works are true, and thy ways right, and all thy judgments true.
For we have sinned, and committed iniquity, departing from thee: and we have trespassed in all things:
Deliver us not up for ever, we beseech thee, for thy name’s sake, and abolish not thy covenant.
And take not away thy mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, thy beloved, and Isaac, thy servant, and Israel, thy holy one:
To whom thou hast spoken, promising that thou wouldst multiply their seed as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea shore.
For we, O Lord, are diminished more than any nation, and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins.
Neither is there at this time prince, or leader, or prophet, or holocaust, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, or place of first fruits before thee,
That we may find thy mercy: nevertheless, in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted.
As in holocausts of rams, and bullocks, and as in thousands of fat lambs: so let our sacrifice be made in thy sight this day, that it may please thee: for there is no confusion to them that trust in thee.
And now we follow thee with all our heart, and we fear thee, and seek thy face.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Withdraw not thy mercy from us, O Lord, but receive the offering of a humble and contrite heart.
Second Psalm — Psalm 143 (144):1–10
The Lord is our strength and our deliverer
Antiphon: To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle, for thou art my refuge and my deliverer.
Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war.
My mercy, and my refuge: my support, and my deliverer:
My protector, and I have hoped in him: who subdueth my people under me.
Lord, what is man, that thou art made known to him? or the son of man, that thou makest account of him?
Man is like to vanity: his days pass away like a shadow.
Lord, bow down thy heavens and descend: touch the mountains and they shall smoke.
Send forth lightning, and thou shalt scatter them: shoot out thy arrows, and thou shalt trouble them.
Put forth thy hand from on high, take me out, and deliver me from many waters: from the hand of strange children:
Whose mouth hath spoken vanity: and their right hand is the right hand of iniquity.
To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle: on the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings I will sing praises to thee.
Who givest salvation to kings: who hast redeemed thy servant David from the malicious sword.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: To thee, O God, I will sing a new canticle, for thou art my refuge and my deliverer.
Short Reading
Hebrews 13:7–9
Remember your prelates who have spoken the word of God to you; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today; and the same for ever.
Be not led away with various and strange doctrines. For it is best that the heart be established with grace, not with meats; which have not profited those that walk in them.
Short Responsory
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
In our work, our words, and the duties entrusted to us.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
Lord, make us faithful in thy service.
Gospel of the Day
Luke 17:7–10
Douay-Rheims
But which of you having a servant ploughing, or feeding cattle, will say to him, when he is come from the field: Immediately go, sit down to meat:
And will not rather say to him: Make ready my supper, and gird thyself, and serve me, whilst I eat and drink, and afterwards thou shalt eat and drink?
Doth he thank that servant, for doing the things which he commanded him?
I think not. So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do.
Benedictus — Canticle of Zachary
Luke 1:68–79
Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, who raises up faithful shepherds and remembers His covenant of mercy.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; because he hath visited and wrought the redemption of his people:
And hath raised up an horn of salvation to us, in the house of David his servant:
As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets, who are from the beginning:
Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us:
To perform mercy to our fathers, and to remember his holy testament,
The oath, which he swore to Abraham our father, that he would grant to us,
That being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we may serve him without fear,
In holiness and justice before him, all our days.
And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways:
To give knowledge of salvation to his people, unto the remission of their sins:
Through the bowels of the mercy of our God, in which the Orient from on high hath visited us:
To enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Antiphon: Blessed be the Lord, who raises up faithful shepherds and remembers His covenant of mercy.
Intercessions
Let us turn with confidence to Christ, the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served but to serve.
Response: Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For our Holy Father, for bishops, priests, and deacons, and for all who bear responsibility within the Church: that, following the example of Saint Leo the Great, they may defend the truth with courage, govern with humility, and care for the faithful with a shepherd’s heart.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For those entrusted with public authority, for the leaders of nations, and for all who make decisions affecting the lives of others: that they may remember that authority is a responsibility before it is a privilege.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For all who begin their daily labor this morning: for parents, teachers, farmers, engineers, tradesmen, nurses, caregivers, and those whose work is hidden from public view. May their efforts be honest, fruitful, and offered in love.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For our homes and families: that we may recognize the quiet sacrifices made on our behalf, express gratitude generously, and perform our own duties without resentment.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For those who are ill, lonely, unemployed, exhausted, or burdened by responsibilities greater than they believe they can bear: that they may find practical assistance, genuine companionship, and strength in the mercy of Christ.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For the faithful departed, especially those who spent their lives serving others without recognition: that the Lord who sees what is hidden may welcome them into His eternal rest.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
For ourselves: that we may resist pride, envy, and the desire for applause; that we may recognize our gifts as blessings entrusted to us; and that we may rejoice in the simple privilege of doing what is right.
Lord, teach us to serve thee faithfully.
Our Father
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Amen.
Concluding Prayer
Almighty and eternal God, who didst raise up Saint Leo the Great to shepherd thy Church in a time of danger and confusion, grant us the courage to remain faithful to thy truth and the humility to serve without seeking earthly praise.
Strengthen those who govern, sustain those who labor, comfort those who suffer, and guide each of us in the duties thou hast entrusted to our care.
May we remember that every good gift comes from thee, and that our greatest honor is to be numbered among thy servants.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
Amen.
Blessing
May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
The Paradox of the Day
The man who no longer demands to be thanked for his service discovers that service itself is a gift.
Chesterton for the Morning
“Submission to a weak man is discipline. Submission to a strong man is only servility.”
— G. K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World, Part I, Chapter V, “The Unfinished Temple.”
Christian Classics Ethereal Library
A Chestertonian Meditation
The Man Who Was Not Thanked
There is a remarkable invention in nearly every kitchen. It is called the dishwasher.
It performs a task that once occupied a considerable portion of domestic life. It washes plates, cups, knives, forks, and the occasional saucepan that somebody has optimistically decided is dishwasher-safe.
When it finishes, it generally receives no applause.
Nobody gathers the family to congratulate the machine on another splendid performance. Nobody presents it with a certificate of achievement. We simply open the door, remove the dishes, and complain if one of the glasses is still dirty.
This is, of course, perfectly reasonable. A dishwasher is a machine.
The difficulty begins when we start treating human beings according to the same principle—or when human beings begin measuring their own worth by the amount of applause they receive.
Our Lord’s parable this morning is about a servant who returns from the fields after a day’s labor. One might reasonably suppose that he deserves a comfortable chair, a warm supper, and perhaps a few appreciative remarks about his agricultural accomplishments.
Instead, his master tells him to prepare supper.
The servant has finished one duty only to discover another.
It is not the sort of story likely to appear in a modern employee-relations handbook.
And yet Christ concludes with an even more startling instruction. When we have done everything commanded of us, we are to say that we are unprofitable servants, having done only what we ought to do.
At first glance, the lesson sounds almost discouraging.
Surely a man who has worked faithfully deserves recognition. Surely good deeds ought to be appreciated. Surely the world would be a happier place if people were more generous with their thanks.
All of this is true.
Gratitude is a virtue. Ingratitude is a fault. A good employer should appreciate his workers, a husband should appreciate his wife, children should appreciate their parents, and all of us should occasionally thank the person who empties the rubbish bin.
But Christ is speaking of something more fundamental than good manners.
He is asking whether we have confused the value of doing good with the pleasure of being praised for doing it.
There is a great difference between the two.
A man may do something admirable and receive no recognition whatsoever. Another may receive an enormous amount of recognition for doing very little.
The applause does not determine the worth of the deed.
This is particularly difficult to remember because applause is pleasant. It is natural to enjoy being appreciated. Even the most modest person can experience a small inward glow when somebody notices his work.
The trouble comes when recognition becomes the reason for doing the work.
Then a curious transformation occurs.
A good deed becomes a transaction.
We no longer give because something ought to be given. We give because we expect something in return, even if the return is nothing more than admiration.
And admiration is a notoriously unreliable currency.
It fluctuates with fashion, circumstance, and the moods of other people. A man who depends upon it for his happiness is rather like a shopkeeper who has agreed to accept payment in autumn leaves.
Chesterton was fascinated by the difference between genuine authority and the mere possession of power.
In What’s Wrong with the World, he observed that obedience to a weak man could demonstrate discipline, while obedience to a strong man might amount to nothing more than servility.
It is a wonderfully uncomfortable distinction.
We generally assume that the greatness of the person giving the order somehow determines the nobility of the obedience.
Chesterton suggests otherwise.
The important question is not whether the person in authority is impressive. It is whether there is something honorable in the duty itself.
A soldier who obeys only the most celebrated general is not necessarily disciplined. He may merely be impressed.
A citizen who respects a lawful authority even when its occupant is ordinary, awkward, or personally unimpressive has learned something about the difference between an institution and a personality.
The same distinction applies to the smallest duties of life.
A father does not become more fatherly because his children applaud him. A mother does not become less loving because nobody notices her sacrifices. A teacher does not become less faithful because the student who benefits most never returns to say thank you.
The good remains good.
This does not mean that the Christian should accept every demand made upon him, or that authority excuses injustice. The parable is not permission for employers to exploit workers or for powerful people to treat the weak as disposable.
Christ Himself condemns those who burden others without lifting a finger to help them.
The point is not that human beings have no dignity.
It is that our dignity does not depend upon our ability to make God indebted to us.
Everything we possess has first been given.
Our intelligence, our strength, our opportunities, our time, and even the breath with which we complain about our responsibilities are gifts we did not manufacture.
We may cultivate our talents. We may exercise our freedom. We may accomplish remarkable things.
But we cannot present the Creator with an invoice for using what He has already given us.
This is where the parable becomes unexpectedly joyful.
If our work is not a means of purchasing God’s approval, it can become an expression of gratitude for His generosity.
The task itself can be an offering.
Consider Saint Leo the Great.
He governed the Church during the fifth century, when political authority in the Western Roman Empire was weakening and theological controversies threatened Christian unity.
He defended the Church’s teaching about the person of Jesus Christ, helped articulate the doctrine upheld at the Council of Chalcedon, and carried the burdens of the Roman episcopacy during a dangerous and uncertain age.
His responsibilities were not theoretical.
They involved real people, real dangers, and decisions with consequences far beyond his own lifetime.
History remembers him as Leo the Great.
But one suspects that many of his days did not feel particularly great.
They were probably filled with difficult correspondence, complicated disputes, troublesome personalities, urgent appeals, and problems that refused to remain solved.
Even a pope must occasionally have wished that somebody else would answer the next letter.
The greatness of Leo’s vocation lay not in the pleasantness of his duties but in his fidelity to them.
He was entrusted with something worth protecting.
And that is true, on a smaller scale, of every Christian.
A child entrusted to our care is worth protecting. A promise is worth keeping. A piece of work is worth doing properly. A neighbor in distress is worth helping. The truth is worth defending, even when defending it brings no personal advantage.
There is a peculiar freedom in recognizing this.
The person who must be thanked for every good deed is forever checking the accounts.
He remembers every kindness that went unacknowledged. He notices every compliment given to somebody else. He carries an invisible ledger of services rendered and appreciation withheld.
Eventually, the ledger becomes rather heavy.
But the person who has learned to serve without demanding payment can put the book away.
He may still appreciate a kind word. He may still welcome encouragement. He may even enjoy an occasional compliment.
But his happiness is no longer held hostage by the gratitude of others.
He has discovered that the work was worth doing before anybody noticed it.
And perhaps this is the most astonishing part of the Christian understanding of service.
The God who needs nothing has nevertheless invited us to participate in His work.
He has allowed us to cultivate gardens, build houses, raise children, teach students, heal the sick, repair machines, write books, prepare meals, and comfort the sorrowful.
He has placed us in a world that is unfinished in a thousand ordinary ways and permitted us to help put things right.
What an extraordinary privilege.
The servant comes home from the field, and there is still supper to prepare.
The Christian looks at the same scene and discovers something that the servant may not have noticed.
There is a field worth cultivating.
There is bread worth serving.
There is someone waiting at the table.
And there is a Lord who has given him the strength to do the work.
Perhaps tomorrow morning the dishwasher will finish its cycle, the dishes will be put away, and nobody will think very much about it.
But somewhere in the same house, somebody will get up before sunrise, make the coffee, prepare breakfast, and begin another ordinary day of faithful service.
There may be no applause.
There may not even be a thank-you.
But the sun will rise upon a world made a little better by somebody who did what ought to be done.
And heaven will not have overlooked it.
Closing
Lord, grant us the grace to recognize the work thou hast placed before us, the courage to undertake it faithfully, and the humility to offer it without demanding praise.
May we discover, in the smallest duties of this day, the extraordinary joy of serving thee.
Chesterton Radio
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