Values of Service

Camiling Catholic School is a domain of distinct organs whose central purpose why they’re built is to render the so-called “service”. The organs I’m referring to are: Knights of the Altar/Dames of the Altar, Liturgical Committee, Choir, and the last but not the least, the only peculiar service-centered organization, the Citizen Advancement Training Organization. For the different religious and non-religious organizations of the school, exceptional viewpoints about the value of service can be known and learned from them.

It is easy to think of service as “doing good” – addressing needs, improving lives, leaving the school a better place than we found it. But service is about more than just outer results. It’s about inner transformation. Each time we tell our self-centeredness to roll over and put our inner generosity in the driver’s seat something inside us shifts. Service is about awareness of that shift as much as it’s about action. It grows us in our understanding of ourselves and the interconnectedness of our world. Every small act of selfless service moves us towards greater mindfulness and compassion. That is, what should be the value of service is. But as human who often make a difference tend to have distinctive perspectives on the value of service. Like in our school, the individuals who belong to the different service-centered groups have their own insights about service value whether with regards to the church or community depending on their service field.

According to the head of LITCOM and Choir(2006-2007), service is acting what’s vested to you. She claimed it with this statement: “Ang value of service ay ang pagganap mo sa lahat ng responsibilidad na naka-account sa iyo wherein you will exert all your time, efforts and sacrifices pursuing the adage, “Do your best and God will do the rest.” As she leave her post as the one who’s taking the lead in two religious organizations, she learned from the value of service a lesson that she will apply and carry for the rest of her life. And that is, “You are ready to accept the criticism whether it is positive/negative and if ever you will acquire some negative criticisms, use them as lessons in order for you to prosper and develop yourself for the better.”

The Altar Servers especially the Knights of the Altar through the years of their service in the church acquired their very own value of service which is following the love of God and bestowing it to others. Following the love of God in a mere sense that the servers pursued what Jesus had done for humanity to express His love that is, “to serve and not to be served.” Consequently, bestowing the love of God to others had been fulfilled when the Knights of the Altar transferred the kind of service they have or their service ground to their successors wherein these successors will continue the legacy of service that will be left to them by their progenitors.

For the CAT officers, service for the school and especially service for others are the cores of their organization. Like what Mahatma Gandhi’s saying expresses that service for others is simply what makes strong the value of service. In addition, for them, service to others is both a responsibility and a joy. They undertook great feats of service as school leaders but they also continually look for opportunities to help others in small, seemingly inconsequential ways whether it will be helping someone struggling with his luggage on a bus terminal, giving advice to students/pupils etc. because as to be in service does not only mean to join in an organization to serve others in the distinct way of the organ but moreover to render one self and what he has for helping the people in need maybe for one life aspect or possibly in all aspects as far as he can for enlightenment as well as for betterment. They knew that few people have been graced with the opportunity or motivation for great service, but we all have the ability and the spiritual need to perform many small acts of kindness.

When you see someone smiling, eleven times out of twelve you smile too. Service works the same way. Experiment any way you like, you’ll find again and again that acts of compassion are contagious. They awoke generosity in the recipient and kindle inspiration in the hearts of each accidental witness. A stone thrown in a pond makes ripples. An act of service cast into the world does much the same. The beauties of its full will always stretch far beyond our line of sight.

Often, the tangible effects of our service to others are quite modest and the enormous needs of the world can seem sometimes to dwarf our best efforts. “We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

And that’s where we believe service is perpetually born: in humble, everyday opportunities in the “small things” that present themselves in each moment, waiting to be touched by and transformed through love for the humanity and especially for God.