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CHRISTIAN/COMMUNITY SERVICE REFLECTIONS
GUIDELINES:
! These reflection papers will help you to become aware of your own growth and what
challenges you need to overcome.
! Setting goals and creating a timeline to complete them is an important aspect of this
project.
! Personal growth depends on your commitment to learning about yourself; who you
are and who you want to become.
! To reap the full benefits of reflection, focus on your service efforts rather than on a
final outcome. “What have I accomplished this week?” not just how can I get this
finished with as little effort as possible.
! Each reflection should have a clearly stated thesis statement which is supported with
both concrete details and commentary leading to a concluding statement which brings
your thesis to a close.
! The minimum required length is one page; double-spaced; 12 point font.
! Each reflection should have a heading on the left side of the paper:
Name of student
Name of Course
Name of Teacher
Date
Reflection Title and number
HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT ME?
It is our hope that through your Christian Service project at Xavier that you will begin to
understand how God’s love is transformative and empowering, calling each of us into
becoming a person who lives out her love for God through service to others.
“I am now deeply convinced that the power of love is from God. I believe that no
humans can truly love unless God is active within them. I hear Jesus say, "Without me
you can do nothing. You can bear no fruit. I am the vine and you are the branches. Cut
off from me you are dead." I hear Saint John say that only the person who knows God
can know the meaning of love. I hear Saint Paul describe love as the highest and greatest
gift of the Spirit. Wherever I have found love I have felt the presence of God, God at
work in the minds and hearts and muscles of us human beings.
My experience of God has been working this transformation in me, too. Oh, I am
still a very selfish person. God is not finished with me yet. Others may not think of me
as a very effective lover, but they do not know the before and after; they cannot read the
motives of the heart. The process of divinization, in which God makes us more and more
to God's image and likeness, is a slow, gradual, and often painful process. I am still a
pilgrim. But I have been touched and I am partially transformed. This is the basis for my
hope. The God who has touched me in the past will act again and again in my life. Over
again I will feel God's finger and find God.” (Adapted from Powell, He Touched Me, pp.
62-63
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http://www.usccb.org/bishops/StewardshipTeens.pdf
USCCB, November 14, 2007, Stewardship and Teenagers, The Challenge of Being a
Disciple
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Share Your Time: Reflection #1
Read the Introduction and the first 2 paragraphs of the letter issued by USCCB,
November 14, 2007, Stewardship and Teenagers, The Challenge of Being a
Disciple.
Relate what you have read about “all time and talents belonging to God” as you
answer the following questions:
o What are your gifts and talents?
o How do you use these in the service of others?
o How did they lead you to choose the volunteer service that you are doing?
Share Your Talents: Reflection #2
Read the paragraphs 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the letter issued by USCCB, November 14,
2007, Stewardship and Teenagers, The Challenge of Being a Disciple.
Relate what you have read to the answers of the following questions:
o How do you understand stewardship as it relates to you sharing your
talents?
o How does the volunteer work you do show God’s love and goodness to
those you work with?
o How does prayer, reading Scripture and the sacraments strengthen you in
sharing your talents?
Share Your Treasure: Reflection #3
Read the paragraphs 7 -12 of the letter issued by USCCB, November 14, 2007,
Stewardship and Teenagers, The Challenge of Being a Disciple.
Relate what you have read to the answers of the following questions:
o What are opportunities that you have in life that make you who you are?
o How can others benefit from what you have been given?
o What are the material “treasures” you have that can be shared with others?
o How often do you engage in random acts of kindness and service?
o What holds you back?
Share Your Tradition: Reflection #4
Read the final paragraphs of the letter issued by USCCB, November 14, 2007,
Stewardship and Teenagers, The Challenge of Being a Disciple.
o Relate what you have read to the answers of the following questions:
o What tradition do you have?
o What importance does it have in your life?
o How do you share it with others in your life?
o How will you communicate your zeal, energy, and idealism with the
community?
o How do you search your heart to discover ways in which you can make a
difference?