Chase Pearce: My Time Serving at the Altar
On the twenty-eighth Sunday of Ordinary time, Fr. Nick gave a homily on what it means to be poor, relating it to the Gospel of Mark and the rich man that came to Jesus. Christ told the man “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me", and the man was disheartened for he had many things. While it’s true that Our Lord calls us to make material sacrifices, there are many other forms of poverty, and serving at the altar has helped me become poorer, specifically in temporal poverty. Time is a precious gift that no one can get back, and being an altar server takes time, whether it’s to help set up for Mass, to bear the crucifix as people leave (an awesome title called the crucifer), or to help take everything down and ensure its safely stored away. There is no doubt that if I wasn’t altar serving, I could spend more time with friends, run over to the dining hall earlier and then try to finish my school work. Yet, it is when we make ourselves poorer for His sake, the One who sacrificed everything to be with us, that the blessings of God make themselves manifest in our lives. It is only when we have emptied ourselves of that which we possess that we can then be fulfilled by the abundant gifts that Our Lord lavishes upon us.
Chase Pearce is a senior studying biology at Hope College. You will frequently find him doing homework in the basement of Graves hall at ‘his desk’. Chase is also a convert to the Catholic faith.