I view the message portrayed through this piece of scripture as a very important lesson to be remembered. Matthew 25:31-46 expresses the Lord’s consequences of not being faithful and doing works of charity, covered in The Old Testament Law, in their everyday lives. However, it is the righteous, the believers who do the good works, who receive the reward of eternal life from Jesus. This relates to Catholic teachings because it acts as an example of many of the topics described. The passage explains to us that when we do something for the lesser people, the poor, or the less fortunate we are doing it for Jesus as well. This can also be referred to as Call to Family, Community, and Participation, Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, and Care for God’s Creation.
As viewed by many around the world, service hours are greatly beneficial to not only the community and the people within it, but also the person doing the act of the service hours as well. The term “service hours” as defined by TheFreeDictionary means, “volunteered by individuals or an organization to benefit a community or its institution.” There is a great importance to the meaning of service hours because without them our community could be completely different than it would be with them. Completing service hours is also important because volunteering teaches people of all ages and backgrounds compassion and understanding. We are called to perform service hours because not only it gives us a chance to give back to the community and help out others that might be in need but also, reflect on ourselves and lookover how we can improve. Many participate for their own good just because they want to be helpful and do it out of the kindness of their hearts. This can also be referred to as, The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers.
The institution that gave me majority of my service hours in which I chose to write about would be my old school, Parkway Christian. At Parkway Christians summer camp, I was a counselor who helped out with the kids and tried my best to encourage the camp to run smoothly through my actions. The time I achieved these hours would be over summer because it is when I have the most free time and when I am able to fully contributed myself and my volunteer efforts to the camp. The summer camp was mainly for kids in first, second, maybe even third grade or lower whose parents who have very busy jobs and do not have anyone who can watch their child throughout the day. So they are dropped off at Parkway Christian around 8:30 am where we play games, go on field trips, and have free play and then are usually picked up close to 4:00 pm.
When I volunteered at Parkway, I felt as though I personally benefited from this experience, as well as having assisted the other counselors and staff there. I noticed that a major key factor I gained would be learning to work better with children of a young age. I learned to have more patience, be more kind in stressful moments, and to enforce the rules but in a considerate way. In total, there were about three or four counselors for around forty-five kids so the other staff members and counselors really appreciated my help. Even just watching them for a minute, you could tell any little action would greatly aid them with taking care of almost 45 kids whose favorite things to do are play and mess around and not listen.
The two most eye catching Catholic School Teachings that I believe explain how my service hours fulfill that requirement would be a Call to Family, Community, and Participation, and a Care for God’s Creation. I chose a Call to Family, Community, and Participation because in order to complete my service hour duty, you had to help out families who didn’t have anyone or anywhere to keep their child for the day. Therefore, I was “called” to aid the busy and hardworking families whose kid needed somewhere where he or she could play and not worry about anything else until mom or dads shift was over. The second one I believe relates to my service hours would be a Care for God’s Creation. As insisted in the Bible, we are all children of God, therefore, becoming his “creation.” So, by helping out and making sure the parents kids are entertained all day I am caring for one of God’s many creations.
My service hours relate to Jesus’s parable on the Judgment of Nations because they both involve taking people in and taking care of them. For my service hours, I helped out parents who had to work everyday of the week over summer break; therefore, they didn’t have anyone to watch their child. So, they would drop them off and pick them up later in the day around 4pm. In Jesus’s parable, he separated those who didn’t help those in need and those who did. He then went on to say those who didn’t help out the others were cursed into the eternal fire. Furthermore, he banished those who did not aid the poor but rather gave the righteous who did help those in need eternal life. This shows that for aiding the less fortunate, Jesus rewards. So by watching the children of the very busy parents, I am helping the parents be less stressed, not lose their job, and be able to work to provide for their family whom they care much about.
The New Testament verse I chose would be Matthew 10:8. This verse states, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.” I believe the meaning behind this would be that countless times people have taken care of you. They helped you when you were sick, they comforted you when you were sad, they helped you by maybe driving you some place because you didn’t have a ride, but they did this all without pay. So, this passage is trying to portray that it is important to acknowledge that others have done that for you, and you should want to do it back in return the same way they did it, without pay. This verse relates to my service hours because it emphasizes the fact that people help without pay. When I chose to volunteer as a counselor at my old schools summer camp, I wasn’t forced to do it. I did it because it was a chance to give back and help a little out of the goodness of my heart and not for money.
The Old Testament verse I chose would be Deuteronomy 15:11. This verse states, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘“You shall open wide you hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” I believe that the meaning behind this verse would be that there is always going to be poor or less fortunate people whether it is in your city, in your community, or in the house right next door. However, you shouldn’t let them be ignored. Instead, take action and do not let them go hungry, or homeless, or in danger, but rather give back by inviting them in and taking care of them. This verse relates to my service hours because it explains how there will always be people in need. No matter how much help is provided, or how many people give back to their community everyday, people will always need a hand. By helping out families and not ignoring their problem and taking their child in, that is how my service relates to the Old Testament verse.
