Why Serve?

It shouldn't primarily be about getting recognized or thanked

Today in the United States, we observe Veterans Day. It’s a time to set aside a few moments of gratitude in recognizing those who have served in our military.

That’s appropriate, and I deeply appreciate what I have experienced as widespread gratitude by the American people for our military, its current members, and its veterans. This has not always been the case in our history. Saying “thank you” to a veteran today is wonderful. So is helping veterans transition into civilian life, as is providing them with other forms of care or support when needed.

But for our military members and veterans themselves, let us not go about our work and lives doing service with the idea that recognition or thanks should be the prime motivator. Service matters because it holds our society together, builds our institutions, and creates the type of world we want for our children.

Service matters regardless of whether or not it’s recognized, regardless of whether or not people say thank you.

Photo by Alexandru Zdrobău on Unsplash

At its core, service requires a deep sense of humility, which focuses our attention on others, away from ourselves. And that sense of humility requires maintenance. If we’re not careful—particularly those of us who somehow ended up serving for a long time in the military and in positions of authority—we can easily lose our humility.

It’s fine to get the “thank you,” and it’s fine to be recognized once in a while. That’s healthy for our society if for no other reason than it potentially broadens the range of what other people might consider as paths for their lives.

But the service matters, thank you or not. And we should keep doing it, thank you or not.

So my prayer today, in addition to being for our nation and our veterans, is for an increase in humility. There’s a prayer called “The Litany of Humility,” which is attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val y Zulueta and captures what this really means quite nicely. Even if you’re not the praying type, you’ll get the idea.

May we stay humble and serve primarily for the sake of service itself.

The Litany of Humility

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus:
From the desire of being loved ...
From the desire of being extolled ...
From the desire of being honored ...
From the desire of being praised ...
From the desire of being preferred to others ...
From the desire of being consulted ...
From the desire of being approved ...
From the fear of being humiliated ...
From the fear of being despised ...
From the fear of suffering rebukes ...
From the fear of being calumniated ...
From the fear of being forgotten ...
From the fear of being ridiculed ...
From the fear of being wronged ...
From the fear of being suspected ...

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it:
That others may be esteemed more than I ...
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease ...
That others may be chosen and I set aside ...
That others may be praised and I unnoticed ...
That others may be preferred to me in everything...
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should.

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