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Final Thoughts   Hi everyone! I am Maggie Cook, a senior at the University of Dayton . Today was unfortunately the final day of service for our Los Angeles breakout. The day included leading two middle schools retreats at Our Lady of Talpa, a K-8 school in Boyle Heights , sharing a family meal, and closing with a final reflection.   Our first retreat was for the 7 th grade and carried with it the theme of building a classroom family. The main purpose of the retreat was to have the girls and boys of the 7 th grade to interact with one another. Emma, their teacher, described the awkward tension between the girls and the boys as “tangible”. At first I was skeptical, how awkward could it be? Today my skepticism was changed into belief; Emma was right, you could feel how on edge the girls and boys were around each other.   The second retreat dealt with the 8 th grade students (not at all awkward around each other, like the 7 th grade) and their transition to high sc...

The blessings of community   Hello all,   My name is Sarah Dwyer, I am a senior Business Management major at St. Mary’s in San Antonio . It’s hard to believe we are already finishing up our 6 th day in LA. What an experience this has been – full of so many blessings, beautiful testimonies and new experiences – much to be grateful for.   Today we started off our morning very early leaving at 6:30am for either Catholic Worker or Union Rescue Mission. We split groups as we did Tuesday, so today I went to Catholic Worker. We started our morning with prayer which was a beautiful unifying symbol of the work and service to the people. I helped with an assortment of tasks from passing bread to those buttering it, to cutting lettuce and cabbage, to being the girl at the hot sauce cart.   I most enjoyed my job at the hot sauce cart where I was able to greet each person with a smile who went through the line asking if they would like hot sauce along with salt and/or pepper. ...

The Presence of the Lord is Here Twelve students, three Marianists Universities, one goal – to serve; however, it has turned into a journey of serving ourselves and our spiritual walk with Christ. My name is Angel-Baby a Criminal Justice Major at Chaminade University of Honolulu, Hawaii, and my favorite type of prayer is through service; seeing how God is present in the people we have encountered throughout this week, whether it be the people without homes of Skid Row, the fellow Marianists family we’ve met along the way, and within our little community we’ve formed this week. Today I was blessed enough to help out at Catholic Worker, and it was such a beautiful experience; having the simple tasks of chopping up tomatoes and lettuce, to passing our sporks and napkins and just smiling and wishing people a good day. This might have been a minor task, but it played a huge role to those that have been fighting with the cold streets for so long. Often times these people are shunned by soc...

Yesterday, I was blessed to volunteer at the Catholics Workers. Towards the end of the day, after we had finished serving everyone, I was cleaning up the mess that came with preparing such large amounts of food and thinking how even though I did accomplish a small success today, I couldn't help but think that it just wasn't enough. I helped prepare one meal but what about tomorrow or the next day or a week from now when I'm back in San Antonio ? After I finished wiping down the counters, I saw every other job had been taken care of so decided to walk in the garden where some people were still eating their meals and talking. I entered it slowly because I didn't want to sit with a group of people and feel like I was interrupting but I also didn't want to sit next to someone sitting alone (because maybe they wanted it that way). I looked around the garden and in a garden bench towards the front, I saw a man eating alone with his backpack by his side. I was really...

Hello! Today we worked with a domestic violence shelter for woman and their children. It was such a beautiful shelter and could almost feel the love in the air. This shelter just had such a homey and welcoming atmosphere that almost made feel as if I was back at my family compound on  Guam . My job today was to just help with some of the things such as construction, moving things around, etc. It was also to interact and play with some of the children present at the shelter. I had a wonderful experience and give my best wishes to the workers, moms, and children at this shelter.                                                                     ...

Los Angeles--an enigma, much like our lives. A city full of many paths, freeways of glamour, trafficked with the crushing burden of poverty. Tent villages in the shadow of luxurious villas and fancy, overpriced apartments. A city alluring to both those dying to be known and the unknown dying. The City of Angels is crowned with the halos of a thousand lights, yet haunted by an underworld of homelessness and gang violence. Yet, the stark disparities of Los Angeles illuminate another, still greater paradox at the heart of the human condition: the deepest, most pure joy is birthed from aching pain. Those still breathing after dancing with despair and flirting with death are filled with a wondrous, encompassing joy. I have witnessed this truth throughout the past few days in the subtlest, yet most profound of ways--through a smile. A shocking flash of white set against the contrast of a hardened, wrinkled face. Dusk fades into dawn. So much beauty in a...

Aloha from Los Angeles ! This is Jerri Francisco from Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii .   What started off as a sluggish morning due to our early departure at 6:30am, immediately turned into an exciting day! Today we visited the Catholic Worker in Skid Row in downtown East Los Angeles . Catholic Worker prepares and serves hot meals to the homeless people who come into their kitchen. I went in without expectations but left with feelings of joy, fulfillment, and hope.    As soon as I walked into the Catholic Worker kitchen, I was welcomed with the smell of yummy food and genuine smiles from the lovely workers. I observed how crazy things could get because every busy body was on a mission to provide warm meals to our hungry brothers and sisters. I was prepared for whatever task needed to get done. But before we do anything, we must begin with opening prayer. All the workers and volunteers gathered around the center of the kitchen, hand in hand, and asked for ...

January 6, 2015 "Toxic, smog, pollution, exhaustion, and fear" were the first words that were withdrawn from my vocabulary bank as I arrived closer towards the Union Mission in Downtown Los Angeles. "No hope, lost of humanity, and recovery" were the words figuratively appeared in each individual's eyes. Streets were filled with dozens on "skid row" with residents clustered and camped on the streets under the clear blue skies. We slowly descended into the parking lot of the Union Rescue Mission building. Ernie, the most gracious and hospitable security guard, escorted us in the direction of the parking lot and elevator to the ground level. I'll be honest, I was a bit excited to dedicate my time and service, but as soon as we stepped foot into the elevator, my heart drastically dropped to the bottom of my toes. Hairs suddenly spiked from my arms and fingers began to shake tremendously. Second person the crew we encountered today was Mike. Mike quickl...

January 5, 2015 Hidy-Ho everyone! Today you’ll be hearing from Jerri, from Chaminade University as well as Mary Beth and Maggie from the University of Dayton .   We started off our day today in a wonderful place known as Homeboy Industries. This is a place for former gang members to come and try to contribute to society in a more productive and safe manner. The ministries included in Homeboy Industries include Homegirl Cafe, tattoo removal, employment advising, personal case management, GED and other classes that teach various life lessons. Upon our arrival, we witnessed Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, give his "Thought of the Day". As he spoke we all observed a sense of reverence among all the people present. Father Boyle truly cares about each member of the Homeboy family and wants to see everyone improve their lives for the better.     While we were all listening to Father Greg so eloquently talk about journeys, we were all struck with God's presenc...

Hey guys! My name is Roberta Schoenmakers and I'm from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, TX. We began our day at Dolores Mission; Brother Brandon, the students and I barely took two steps out of the car before we were greeted by someone parking their car next to us. He immediately recognized us as people new to the parish and introduced himself as a parishioner named Pete who was heavily involved with Dolores Mission and the services it offers. It really made me feel welcomed because he took interest in each of us and asked our names as well as what we wanted to do after graduating. We then went to the Lady of Angels Cathedral that had beautiful tapestries that lined the walls with over a hundred different saints of all kinds of backgrounds but all facing towards the front of the church and towards the altar. We each got a saint and handed envelopes to learn about our individual saints. I got Lucia Khambang, a Thai nurse who continued to run a congregation after the killing...

Hello! This is RJ Schratz, a Junior from Dayton, and Jonah, a Sophomore from Saint Mary's! With any adventure, there are always plenty of unknowns. Our trip to LA, however, has more than most. Not only were we unsure of the territory, as the majority of us had never been to Los Angeles before, but we had also never encountered the people from the other universities besides a slightly awkward Google hangout call.  Despite being exhausted the night before I (Jonah) boarded my flight from San Antonio to Los Angeles, I could not sleep. The pressures of being introduced to a new group of people made me anxious about the dynamics I could bring to this immersion experience.   I knew the people would be pleasant and polite but my main concern was how we would interact with one another. All my doubts were quickly drowned when Brother Brandon and the students from Dayton, RJ, Maggie, Mary Beth, and Emily, greeted us at the Getty Museum with warm smiles and genuine questions about our fl...