READING

1 Corinthians 3:5 – 3:23

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

According to the commission of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble— each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If any one destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and that temple you are.

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So let no one boast of men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.

MEDITATION – Dr. Andrew Seeley

“We are God’s fellow workers.” As it was with Paul and Apollos, so it is with each educator, his colleagues and school staff. Amazing! We each have our nurturing roles to play so God can give growth to our students and school community. The foundation in our students is Jesus Christ; whatever our subject, whatever our role, we are contributing to establishing and building upon their relationship with Him.

That is a beautiful thought, but also enhances our sense of the vital importance of our work. We must strive to serve with the best that we have in us, so that we might rejoice to see their life in Christ produce silver and golden fruit. When we see hay and stubble in their lives, we must ask ourselves to what extent we have been failing to embrace the nobility of our call. Have we been building according to the wisdom of a world which does not recognize the centrality of the spiritual dimension of the young?

EXAMEN

Do I relate to my colleagues and school staff as my fellow workers in God? Have I taken care to put my best effort into my teaching on a daily basis? Have I made sure that the content and materials of my teaching are consonant with the teaching of the Church and likely to nourish the life of faith of my students?

PRAYER

Dear Lord Jesus, please use me as an instrument to provide spiritual growth for my students. May I grow with my colleagues in my loving commitment to serve them.

MID-MONTH REFLECTION – FR. FRANK BRAWNER, INSTITUTE CHAPLAIN