Columbus Region Day of Reflection Emphasizes Spiritual Ministry

Why are you helping me? Because I love you.  But why do you love me?  Because Jesus loves you.

Thus began the Columbus Region’s Annual Day of Reflection themed: Proclaiming the Faith Through Loving the Human Person. Guided by Rev. Stash Dailey, 20 knights, dames, candidates and guests, including several from the Chicago region, gathered at the Pontifical College Josephinum on a glorious spring Saturday to share a day of fellowship, prayer, and spiritual reflection.

Reminded that we gathered under the guidance of Mary, the day began with the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary taken from the Order of Malta Breviary. Father Dailey’s message that day centered on our call as members of the Order of Malta to serve the poor and the sick whom we encounter in our daily lives with the love of Christ. He urged those gathered to be mindful that when we minister to our lords the poor and the sick, we must always see the human person as Imago Dei and never lose sight of the fact that we minister to a fellow human being with spiritual as well as corporal needs. Put simply, Father stressed that members of the Order are called to be more than a social service agency, we are called by our Catholic faith to always be mindful of the evangelical dimension to Caritas.

In speaking to the charism of the Order, Father Dailey told a beautiful story of his first encounter with the Order. So fittingly, it occurred in Lourdes, yet, ironically, he was almost unaware of the encounter. Anyone familiar with the Order’s annual pilgrimage might immediately question the padre’s powers of observation. That is, however, until they learned that it was the advance team he had encountered. What made such a profound impression on Father Dailey at the time was the quiet and meticulous manner with which this small team went about preparing for the highly anticipated arrival of their fellow pilgrims. It was their unassuming and visibly loving service done without uniform—unnoticed by most around them—that struck him and spoke to the tender attention paid to preparing for our malades’ physical and spiritual needs.

With the Columbus region preparing to open the Order of Malta Center of Care in the coming months, it is that same focus on the spiritual needs of those we serve that Father implored us to remember. God comes to us through others, and regardless of circumstance, every life has a purpose. If we are truly to see the person as the love of Jesus demands, our care must be forged in gratitude and love.

The day concluded with an intimate evening Mass in the St. Rose of Lima Chapel.