St. Bernadette Catholic Church

In a lot of the helping professions, we hear much about burn-out especially these days when so much is asked from people like nurses and teachers. Sometimes the well seems to dry up and to keep giving is an extreme force of will. You could say that the Christian way of life is threatened in the same way. We are called to live a life of generosity and to keep giving to the point of sacrificing our own comfort even our own needs. It is easy to fall on times when we feel we just don't have more to give and those words of Jesus to be light of the world or salt of the earth feel more like an indictment than an inspiration. But what should distinghish our Christian life is a well that doesn't go empty because it is renewed by God's Spirit. In reality, it is not even possible to attain this life without this Spirit. So when Jesus urges us to be light of the world, he is saying at the same time stay rooted in my love. Therefore, the practice of prayer and reflection is every bit as important as the good deed itself. In fact, it is what makes the good deed good.