Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. Luke 6:38
When I was the vocation director for the archdiocese, I used this quote from Martin Luther King Jr. to challenge young people to think about service in the church: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” Now that I am retired, I am using it to challenge myself.
I have written about it before, but let me mention it again here. I volunteer in the foreign missions of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I continue to lead priest retreats and parish missions and use the money to finance my travel expenses and to fund small projects down there.
Managing the lack of comfort and privacy, along with the precautions I have to take not to get sick from the water or food, can wear on my nerves. The last time I was down there, I had to face down a lizard-like creature crawling up the bathroom mirror and put my clothes back on and go for help when no water came out of the shower when I got in it.
The sound of honking horns late at night and crowing roosters in the early morning through an open window can really be annoying when you are trying to sleep. So far, with all this together, I can only manage a couple of weeks at a time until I can adjust.
At one point during my December trip, when things were getting stressful, I remember asking myself this question, “Why didn’t I just learn to play golf, move to Florida and act like a real retired person?”
It didn’t take me long to answer my own question.
I simply remembered Martin Luther King Jr.’s insight: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’ ” In truth, I cannot imagine using my retirement years to pamper myself as long as I am able to do daring deeds like volunteering to work in the foreign missions. As the saying goes: “With enough thrust, even pigs can fly.”
At this age, if I had to choose between the safety of boredom or the uncertainty of adventure, I would choose adventure anytime. I realize there is a difference between being foolhardy and being courageous. Going over Niagara Falls in a barrel is foolhardy. Traveling to the foreign missions by oneself with a blood clot history is courageous.
Sure, a lot of things can go wrong, but I take precautions like investing in a “medical evacuation policy.” In reality, I am sort of proud of myself and I understand that such a risk is a benefit of being single.
No, I will not change the world by doing this, but I have changed the world for a couple of people. Even if that were not true, it is certainly changing my world.
To read more from Father Knott, visit his blog FatherKnott.com.
Father J. Ronald Knott
