Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Mt 20: 27
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The upcoming Prayer Breakfast on September 13th will be the 4th anniversary of the Catholic Business League. At that event, Jeremy Bisceglia will be taking over as the new President. Jeremy has been with our group from the beginning and considered one of the founding members. I will continue on the BOD and take over some other responsibilities of which I will mention later.
Because of the changing titles for all, it does not seem right to continue to publish my comments as the “President’s Letter”. But, we want to give all CBL members a chance to be a part of this blog. So going forward it will publish as “The Catholic Professional”. Any member of the Catholic Business League can submit a post to blog@catholicbusinessleague.org that, once approved, will show up under this moniker. This fulfills parts of our mission:
“Providing opportunities for Catholic Professionals to engage in fellowship, catechesis, service, and philanthropy.”
My reflection after 4 years as president is thankfulness for the opportunity to serve. Many look for their calling or chance to give back in some form of service. Mine was laid in my lap. It is such a joy to bring professionals together around a Mass and see the results develop; fellowship, mentorship, and most especially, help for those in career transition.
I credit my opportunity to serve to the Spirit and much prayer during my time in transition. Although mine was not that long, when faced with such little prospects, one’s vision gets very clear. You can focus on many things, not all very good for you. When I focused on prayer, my answers came. I encourage those looking for work, reading this right now…the struggle you are in right now will most likely result in bringing out the best (or the worst) in you.
One of the keys to meditate on for any growth is finding whom you are best able to serve. There are the obvious such as your spouse, children, family, etc. but who else? We can all recall results when we gave of ourselves…truly gave of ourselves to another…and it made an impact.
Being in the CBL, this naturally leads to the thought of service at work. You ask “How can you, in this competitive economy, be expected to serve others in your work?” But, as Catholic Professionals that is what we are called to do. With/in prayer you can find ways to be Christ to all those around you during the day. Just by speaking with your actions, those around you at work will raise their levels of service.
We can never remember those we are explicitly called to serve the poor, sick, or unemployed; deference to the under-privileged. The Catholic Business League directs its philanthropy to education through yearly donations to Catholic Elementary School scholarships for needy students. They can give many kids the same blessed schooling opportunity that many of us had in our youth and attribute to our stability. 
The Catholic Business League is truly on path to its mission. The opportunities this group provides allows Professionals to live their Catholic teaching with validation that others are walking in the same path. I plan to stay involved by helping with this blog and chairing the BOD Development Committee in search of sponsorships (if interested contact info@catholicbusinessleague.org).
Please join us for Anniversary Mass on September 13th at the Cathedral in downtown Nashville. At the Fleming Center afterward we will celebrate the 2012 Catholic Professional of the Year, Steve Hayes. Click HERE for more info.
Yours, in Christ
Greg Mays
