Psalm 100 begins: “Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness.” It is a great honor to serve the Lord, which should make us glad, and even more than glad, joyful. But are we serving the Lord? How do we do so? The main ways we serve God are by worshipping Him at Mass and in prayer, and in doing the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, but we can also serve Him in other ways.
Our entire lives must be of service to God, in the circumstances, events, and responsibilities of each day. That is the way the saints lived, and it is a way that we can live too. We can serve God in every aspect of our lives, every day, at all times. The easiest way to do this is to offer up our day to God by making a morning offering. Then everything we do throughout the day is offered to Him as a prayer. Our day can be offered for a specific intention as well, such as for a sick person or for peace in the world. My morning offering is usually for priests.
Offering up our suffering, illnesses, difficulties, and inconveniences is another way to serve the Lord. While we may be unhappy about our circumstances, we can still experience joy by remaining close to Jesus and knowing that by offering our sufferings to Him and uniting them with His sufferings on the cross, we can help in the salvation of souls.
Often there are things we dislike doing or do reluctantly because they are necessary, such as vacuuming, typing a report, or driving somewhere in traffic. By recalling that what we are doing we are doing for God, we can overcome our negative feelings and do the task with gladness, out of love for God who loves us so much.
One priest I am friends with likes to remind me that we can also offer up the happy experiences of our day as well. God gives us many blessings each day and many reasons to be grateful to Him. Traditional morning offering prayers include an offering of both our sufferings and our joys of the day; everything can be given to God as a prayer.
Everyone serves God in different ways, depending on one’s state of life, work, duties at home, health, age, and vocation. For example, I serve God as a spiritual mother and writer. A mother taking care of her children, a nurse looking after patients, a mechanic fixing a car, an accountant examining business records, and a student studying for a test are all examples of people doing the ordinary duties of their daily work, which they can offer to God. There are many opportunities to serve God each day.
We can use the gifts and talents God has given us to serve Him. When we use our talents to honor God, it will bring us joy. I think our gifts and talents are meant to be offered to God in our daily lives, not only in a career or apostolate. For example, someone with a talent in writing could write letters to friends and relatives as a way to keep in touch and send cards to residents in nursing homes for the holidays. Someone with a talent in cooking could make good meals for their family and volunteer to make meals for a new mother or a person who has just returned home from the hospital.
Like the saints, we can stay close to God throughout the day. Even if we are busy, we can remember that He is with us and loves us. In that moment, taking a few minutes to speak with Him in prayer will remind us that we are not working for ourselves but for Him. As Saint Paul wrote: “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
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