This is the lot of most workers of the world. Coming from a long line of domestics, teachers and janitors, I find that my current role as a priest is still most informed and fed by past and present individuals of this status in my life. I find my most soulful and richest tools of formation as a priest came not from my seminary training but from the legacy of those that quietly did their mundane work and raised their families with love, dignity and care. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the servants don't expect to receive a trust fund. The servants don't complain that they didn't get a party.
Servants often work in the background and in the shadow of the main drama.
While I love my work as a priest, which often seems best suited for extroverts, of which I am not, I gain particular satisfaction from doing the ongoing tasks that take place behind the scenes. Listening to the bereaved. Praying alone in silence. Watching, waiting and sharing in the challenge found in individuals and small groups who seek a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. This is my joy.