A Moment To Pause: Saturday 9th May 2026

We join Kirk Jacob for this morning’s short audio reflection during the 5th week of Eastertide.

Today is Saturday, 9th May and this morning’s Oblate podcast is from the Scripture of John 15:20:  ‘a servant is not greater than his master’. 

Good morning. We begin: In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

In today’s Gospel Jesus speaks to His Disciples, his inner circle, reminding them of the importance of SERVICE. He  shares these words:  ‘A servant is not greater than his master’.  So, how do we understand servant-master relationships in Society? Or is it a taboo subject left only for the privileged classes of society? Our Oblate Founder, Eugene De Mazenod came from an Aristocratic family. He had 12 servants serving his every need in Aix at France. Did he learn anything from his servants or was he just someone who gave the orders since he felt he had an entitlement to it? As a boy, Eugene gave away the coat on his back to a poor fellow charcoal boy which certainly wasn’t in becoming of his aristocratic status. So, we see an interweaving nature between servant and masterhood classes in Eugene’s life.  I felt something of this nature as well as I grew up in a middle class household in Madras, India with 8 children and being looked after by my late parents/ sometimes grandparents.   We hired an ‘Ayya’ ,a term of respect for our servant helper, who I recalled sometimes lived at our home. Besides helping our Mum, our Ayya looked after us when we were sick with chicken pox and when our parents were at work. So, their role was at times like a surrogate grandparent. Maybe you have your own story as well.  

Lord Jesus, we say ‘THANK YOU’ for help us draw meaning from your Servanthood. Amen. Stay Blessed!