Last Reflections

So, we made it!  All the way to Jamaica and back again without any problems whatsoever!

For me, this trip was huge, and it has been by far the most influencing week any of these trips have ever had on me.  This trip meant a lot more to me than simply going away and doing some service work.  I've developed new ideas on what being a Christian is really all about, and I've re-enforced my belief in the quote Father Gomes recited from Saint Francis of Assisi during the blessing he gave us before my first workcamp with the kids here almost 7 years ago: "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words."

More than that though, this trip was a chance for me to get one last trip in with the group I've been working with the longest since I've started working at the church.  These high school seniors were in 7th grade when I first started working here in my early 20's, and I have grown far more attached to them than any other group so far.  They will all be off to college next year, and it's tough to take in the fact that I won't be seeing them nearly as much anymore.  Just writing this sentence literally brings some tears to my eyes.  Of course, I wish them infinite blessings on their journeys in the future, and I sincerely hope that I've made some sort of positive impact on their lives since they have met me. 

To the campers on the Jamaica trip:  Knowing you has been such a great fortune, and I want you to know that I love you all very much.  I look forward to hearing about your accomplishments in the future (as I know you will have many) and I look forward to transitioning from your youth minister simply into a friend as you all become adults. 

God Bless,

Jared

God's pencil

Yesterday we went to the infirmary here near St Anne's Bay. We all got a chance to sit and visit with some of the people there, and boy was there a variety of people there. Our visit was prefaced by Fr Geoff saying along the lines of, "you might get a little emotional, and you might feel something powerful...but you shouldn't be surprised because this is exactly where Jesus said we would find him."

Visiting the infirmary is a tough thing to digest, or should I say the circumstances that warrant the existence of it. Because of the poverty, this type of place seems almost like a place where people who are handicapped or injured are just put because no one knows what to do with them. The question is always brought up: what is the point of life for these people? We feel bad saying it, but there is an element of empathy for them in this because we feel bad for their situation. Most people don't want to see others in the state of being that these people are in, and because so many of them are so close to the brink of death, it almost seems logical that God should take them home...Why doesn't he?

I have been doing a lot of thinking this week, and I can't answer this question, but I've come up with my own thought: Life is full of circumstances and we must share in them. There will always be pain in the world, there will always be suffering and despair. There are those that have no choice to go through it, and there are those of us that do have that choice. But the suffering belongs to ALL of us, and we must share it. Just as Jesus died on the cross for all of us, and shared in our individual sufferings, we so must replicate that action. There is a part of that pain that one of the patients at the infirmary is going through that belongs to me, and I need to own it. And that is a value that we can retract from this situation. If God is love, then he exists within the action of this service; of course nothing is more powerful or more valuable than God himself. Sure, there is a lot of work in the world that needs to be done, but this suffering in the world can become a great and profound catalyst for an outpouring of love to those who need it. Joel Osteen once said "when the world gives us waves of grief, God gives us waves of grace", and if we believe that we are the pencils in God's hand as he is writing a love letter to the world (Blessed Mother Teresa), then we must act and share in this suffering. We must do what we can to go to the infirmaries in the world, and play with the children at the community centers, and feed the hungry as much as possible, so that we may share the suffering and the pain WITH them. Will we always be perfect? NO! Of course not! But when the time comes that we realize there is more that we might be able to do, instead of feeling bad about our shortcomings, we should embrace our humanity but still try to do more. After all, pencils need to be sharpened every now and then.

Stretching Across Time and Space

Fr. Geoff said something at a past work camp that I frequently think back to when at CHWC camps. Essentially he said that once a group comes together in Christ, that group exists forever. Although we will all head home on Saturday, and this group (the US and Canadian group that is also here) will never be reunited here on earth, we are still united in Christ every time we celebrate the Eucharist. That thought has always inspired me.

Cutting Loose, Thursday Edition

After finishing the floors, we went and played with some kids again.

On The Discovery of Neptune

In the mid eighteenth century, astronomer Alexis Bouvard was studying the planet Uranus.  With the telescopes then extant, Uranus was the furthest known planet from Earth.  Based on fluctuations in Uranus' orbit, Bouvard predicted the existence of a planet beyond the orbit of Uranus.  Years later, the planet Neptune was discovered.  Alexis Bouvard didn't need to see something to know that it existed.

Jared first asked me to chaperon a Catholic Heart Work Camp trip three summers ago.  At the time I was in what could be called a rough patch in my faith life.  Not knowing what to expect, I convinced myself that I would find answers to all of my questions that week in Maryland.

Wednesday night, at the camp, Fr. Rose led the campers in a Eucharistic adoration.  The mood in the gym was peaceful and serene.  The monstrance entered the gym, and soft music begin to play, outside of which was near total silence.  After several minutes, I began to hear scattered sniffles.  Soon, many, if not most, of those gathered in the gym were leaking tears.  Two guys, sitting in front of me, were in each other's arms, weeping profusely at the enormity of the moment.  These guys were co-captain of their high school football team.

I didn't have that moment that I was expecting in Prince Frederick.  I wasn't grabbed and shaken by God.  In some sense though, I got something equally as impactful.  I wasn't able to see God, but I was able to see the reflection of God in someone else, or two someone-elses in this case. 

It wasn't the treasure map with the "X marks the spot" that I was looking for.  What it was was the first step down a road that has lead to enormous changes in my life, particularly in my faith life, and the experiencing of things that I can't begin to describe. 

Sometimes, we can not see what we seek, but if we pay careful enough attention, we can see its ripples, as it traces a cosmic path across our lives.

Cutting Loose

Pictures of us having fun during/after our work day. We went back to Steertown to play with the children pictured.

Some More Work Pictures

Pictures of our work day today. We were pouring concrete in a community center. By hand.