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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...