Mission Reflection

I am filled with hope for a bright future after spending two days serving God’s people in Cincinnati.  I could not be more proud of our teens, Tessa, Haley and Bridget who, along with 23 other teens from the Diocese of Youngstown, fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, sheltered the homeless, clothed the naked and helped with disaster relief services.

In addition to mission work, each of the four days of the retreat began and ended with praise and worship.  It was beautiful to pray with these teens; to hear them praise God in both prayer and song.  A main focus as we began our retreat Monday was to help us become one despite coming from seven parishes.  We experienced a few team building games right at the start to help us get to know one another.  When we shared our first meal and had our first “free” time, I noticed that we tended to stay with our own community.  I admit that I was a little worried about 23 teenagers having the freedom to do as they please while we chaperones had our first meeting.  Not one teen wondered beyond the boundaries set by the Jesuit team; quite the contrary; within a short time, nearly all the teens were engaged in a game of volleyball.  What a sight it was for me to walk outside and see such bonding within a few short hours.  From this moment on, teens sat and prayed and worked alongside each other as if they had grown up together.

In reflecting upon this bonding, I wondered if this is what is was like in the early Christian communities.  As the disciples were sent “two by two” into the world to proclaim to good news, heal and drive out demons in the name of Jesus Christ, I suspect that those they ministered to kept to themselves at first.  Just like our teens, once they came to know Jesus and were willing to answer the call to love one another, they would have been compelled to join together.  For it is the love of Jesus Christ that binds us and this love serves as a catalyst to do great things.

I experienced many touching moments.  One of the places in which I was blessed to serve was Mary Rose Mission.  Their motto is “to love as God loves.”  Every volunteer we worked with not only provided food for the hungry, they made sure that every guest who crossed the threshold knew that they were loved because God loves.  I was especially touched when a little girl came running in and into the arms of team leader Cindy.  Her laughter was contagious.  The guests did not walk into a soup kitchen; they walked into a loving home environment where the love of God and friends welcomed them in to share a warm meal.  I can’t stop smiling with the thought of it and also cannot wait to extend this same warmth at St. Vincent DePaul.

We concluded the four days with the celebration of Eucharist.  I share with you the video of one of my favorite songs that we prayed throughout our experience: https://youtu.be/3gpU15nVe4Q  (This video is hosted by the St. William YouTube Channel.)

Humble thyself before the Lord.  Walk in his ways.  “Love as God loves.”

Shalom,

Tina