Wholly Favorable

We do not grow in favor with God throughtout our lives, but instead, over time, we come to realize that we are wholly favorable in our Father's eyes. That's a thought Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., introduced to my heart in his book, Tattoos on the Heart. Homeboy Industries is the biggest gang re-entry program in the United States. Started by Fr. Boyle and based in the heart of Los Angeles, it has not only become a saving grace to many men and women, but also a home, and a place to be heard, to be encouraged and supported, and to be loved.

Today we visited Homeboy Industries and the Homegirl Café. After reading even just half of his book, I was hooked on the program and the message Fr. Greg carries with him. Upon arriving at Homeboy, we were greeted by a woman named Elena. Little did we know, Elena herself, a poised, confident woman, had quite a story. What a lady. Easily one of the most remarkable comeback stories I've heard from a woman, she has turned her life around and for that, gives thanks to God. Elena wasn't the only one, though. There were so many success stories in that building just waiting to be shared, and I'm just waiting to listen.

Needless to say, my visit to Homeboy Industries was, as cliché as it sounds, all I hoped it to be and more. May God be with those who give second chances and with those who take those chances and make something remarkable from them. God, help us be people who see a second chance, grab hold of it, and turn it into something beautiful. Give us humble, listening hearts. Thank you for being a forgiving Lord and for creating us to be wholly favorable in Your eyes.

Peace,
Libby Harbaugh
UD 2015

ps. a special shout out to John Magee, a faithful servant of God in all that he does, who has put his heart into many people and never loses hope...God is constantly calling you to something special, don't ever forget that, and don't ever give up

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"If you want peace, work for justice" - John 6 - Madi Perales

Image
Hello blog readers, My name is Madison Perales, and I am a rising junior at St. Mary's University is San Antonio, Texas.  I am majoring in Communication Studies and minoring in Visual Communication Design.    Our day consisted of three main components: The hike, Our Lady of Talpa, and the cultural dinner.  Each was beautiful and unique with a bittersweet taste because in our minds we knew this was our last full day together. The hike started early, and we headed out to Monrose at 7:30 am and rolled up just as the park was opening.  Unlike Texas, the hike was cool and shaded by the large Oak-like canopy trees.  Precious silence hung over the first half of the group and the second half was buzzing with light chatter.  We made our way up the sloped trail and were greeted by squirrels, various birds, and random sounds nature offered up.  Side note:  There are no squirrels in Hawaii. We made our way to the top and came into an area with a small, b...
Read more

Beyond Words

Image
Hello readers! I’ll start off with a little about me, my name is Marrah Moreland and I am a junior, education major at St. Mary’s University. I am pursuing my degree in education because I love working with children, especially those with special needs. My goal in life is to become a special education teacher and I have to constantly remind myself of this, especially during finals J Last week I had the awesome opportunity to participate in the 2013 Marianist University L.A Breakout. Let me just put it out there; I have never blogged before and rarely post on Facebook.  This is not because I don’t like to share my ideas and opinions with others (hahaha, quite the opposite actually) but because I feel that these types of things are better shared in a closer forum where they can be discussed and not so easily taken out of context. So needless to say I have been hesitant about this whole “blogging” thing. But, when asked earlier this week at my weekly MLP (Marianist Leadership Program...
Read more

A Day at The Midnight Mission

Image
A Day at The Midnight Mission             Throughout this morning, I was very excited about what we would be doing today.  We were told that we were going to visit the Midnight Mission and I didn’t know what to expect, but I told myself and talked to God that I am going to be open about whatever it is we would do today and I prayed that he would guide me throughout this whole entire day to help me understand his purpose of why he placed me at this place and time.              To start off my journey at the Midnight Mission, here is a little background that I got from the Midnight Mission website:             “In 1914, Tom Liddecoat, nicknamed “father of the poor” opened the doors of the Midnight Mission as refuge to the men of Skid Row.  A successful businessman and lay minister, Liddecoat would serve a meal a...
Read more