Lessons Learned

First and foremost I wish to apologize for the lack of activity on my blog in the past few weeks. With that being said, as I sit down to compose a new blog post I become overwhelmed with the copious amount of things I could write and tell you all about. So what I have decided to do in order to cover the most ground is muster up a sort of laundry list of lessons I’ve learned over this past month. Here we go:

1.    Prayer Unites

-       “Prayer is helplessness casting itself on power, infirmity leaning on strength, misery reaching to mercy, and a prisoner clamoring for relief.” – Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

o   Once a month as part of an outreach initiative I accompany Elisa (my direct supervisor) and a few other parishioners to Catholic Charities. During that Saturday morning we hand out about 50 free lunches. The meals are great but the most compelling and filling moments are the moments we join in prayer. You see most of the individuals who visit this local Catholic Charities are not yet citizens of the United States and/or are struggling with deportation of themselves or members of their family. Many of the people we have the pleasure of interacting with ask not just for the food but for a prayer. So we all join hands and together we pray. Elisa leads the prayer (most often in Spanish). Although, I don’t speak Spanish I have come to learn that prayer in and of itself is a universal language. Although these people are struggling, being able to unite with them in prayer is absolutely beautiful and uplifting.

2.    The land of the endless summer

Up until my move to Tampa every one of my winters have been spent in some part of North Eastern United States; now here it is February 24^th and I am sitting outside on the porch composing this post. In this month of February, I have worn shorts, gone to a drive-in movie, watched fireworks and even gotten mild sunburn. (No, I am not bragging – I am still simply in awe of this Florida weather). Still cannot wrap my head around all these palm trees and absolutely stunning sunsets.

3.    There is always work to be done

The Salesians are some of the hardest working individuals I have ever met. At each day’s end I stand (or rather collapse into bed) in awe of all the work that was done. Working under Fr. Steve Ryan is such an incredible blessing – he works for the best boss there is. Mary Help of Christians Center is on the move – growing, evolving and evangelizing – being a part of it all is so incredible.

4.    We all laugh in the same language

Whether 3 or 23 we all laugh in the same language. One Thursday evening, I found myself laughing with a 3 year old girl who only spoke Spanish. I speak no Spanish and yet we played and laughed together. In this moment I truly felt God at work.

5.     “Salesians For Life”

-“human life is a manifestation of God and his glory.” – Pope Benedict XVI

This past weekend we hosted Tampa Bay’s 2^nd Annual Pro Life Youth Rally. This was an entirely new thing for me to be a part of but it was such a moving experience. A profound moment for me during the weekend was gathering all the rally participants to use sidewalk chalk and draw 3500 hearts in a memorial that had been set up. The 3500 hearts drawn were to symbolize the 3500 babies that are aborted each day in the United States. That statistic is horrid. We must change our culture and become prophets of life.

6.    Mary Help-3 Volunteers-0 … “I’m just waiting for her to realize that we are on the same team!”

-          “What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” – Mother Theresa of Calcutta

-          It has become a running joke between myself and Bridget (the other resident volunteer) that Mary Help is against us simply because we both find ourselves getting hurt or in some sort of predicament that nobody else seems to face. For instance, we are both head to toe covered in bruises.

-          All kidding aside it truly is wonderful to be a volunteer here at Mary Help of Christians Center. I am so grateful for the team atmosphere and support that is provided. We truly are a family – looking out for each other, cheering each other on and simply helping wherever and whenever needed. It really is such a beautiful place to work and grow.

7.    What you learn in school really does matter!

-          I have come to enjoy spending time over at St. Phillip’s Residence with the retired Priests and Brothers. While spending time with these men I am able to use some counseling skills and really get to know these men. It makes me sad to think of how many elderly simply do not have anyone to talk to. So, taking an hour out of my day to sit down and listen to their stories matters – not only for them but also for me.

8.    Write things down!

-          As I come to the end of this post I know I am forgetting a lot and leaving out a lot of details. I vow to spend more time writing, reflecting and generating blog posts. I cannot rely solely on my memory – far too much happens in a day for that to be sufficient! J

Thank you all so very much for reading, writing, sending mail and for the prayers. I am so excited to welcome my Dad to Tampa in a month (thanks to my siblings!) Sharing this journey via a blog only tells half the story so to be afforded the opportunity to share this journey with my Dad in person is such a blessing.