Whenever people ask about the priesthood, I always say, “It is the world’s best-kept secret.” Why? Because fewer men are making it an option. On the other hand, no other vocation will allow you to journey with people from birth to death, in joy and in pain, and in every milestone of their lives. Hence, you become family to so many people. Eventually, there are so many blessings.

Then, two quotations come to mind when this happens: “With great blessings come great responsibility”. We are supposed to be good stewards of God’s many blessings. On the flip side, the second saying is: “With great blessings come great temptations.” One of the greatest temptations is the sense of entitlement. In the Gospel, Jesus lambasted the Pharisees and Scribes because of their sense of entitlement:

“All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.”

According to an article, five of the many symptoms of entitlement:

• First, when there is a constant desire for admiration
• Second, when there is a change of lifestyle leaning on a higher economic class
• Third, when there is an expectation of others to do their tasks
• Fourth, when there is a lack of gratitude
• Fifth, when the person has become demanding

Hence, to combat entitlement, we remember three things:

• First, the words of Christ, “I came to serve and not to be served.” May we continue to serve and give without counting the cost. After all, the happiness brought by serving and giving is priceless.
• Second, always find something to be grateful for. When this happens, contentment comes in. When one is content, one is able to share. We remember the words of Christ: “Freely you have received, freely you are to give.”
• Third, reflecting on the demands we make. Are these justifiable or do we feel we deserve it? Are these necessary or do we feel we have just become lazy?

In this Mass, may fight the temptation of entitlement, as Jesus also once said, “At the end, we are all useless servants.”