Wherever there is a need for peace or justice, there is a poverty. Wherever there is a need for a greater respect for human life, there is a poverty. Wherever there is an unfulfilled desire for the love of Christ, there too is a poverty. In the face of such poverties—whether material, spiritual, intellectual, or emotional—many are reduced to despair, cynicism, or apathy. And yet, wherever there is a poverty, there is also an opportunity to enter into a profound school unlike that found in any classroom or carefully-supervised field education apostolate site. This “school of poverty” has the potential to convey a lesson that penetrates to the deepest core of one’s heart and mind because the vulnerability that one feels in the presence of the
THE
poor is the best preparation for authentic learning. False assumptions of the ego about having all the answers simply
School OF Poverty
will not stand up when confronted by true poverty,
in whichever of its myriad forms it is presented.
Rector - Fr. John Kartje
As a seminary rector, I am keenly aware that the school of poverty can become easily obscured by the false dichotomy and petty debate between “serious theology” and “social justice.” For the parish priest, no such dichotomy can be tolerated. He must be at one and the same time a master of the rich philosophical, theological and spiritual heritage of our Catholic Tradition, while also being a spiritual shepherd and father who can embrace others with profound humility and simplicity. In the reflections that follow, you will encounter seminarians who are as familiar with Aristotle, Benedict of Nursia, and the Samaritan woman at the well as they are with handing out blankets to the homeless or praying quietly for the conversion of angry, troubled hearts outside of an abortion clinic.
These men, and their faculty coordinator, represent the leadership of Mundelein’s Peace and Justice/Gospel of Life apostolate, but they also represent the dozens of seminarians with whom they are associated and from whom they draw encouragement and inspiration. It is my sincere hope that as you read their reflections, you will yourself be transported into the school of poverty and will deepen your desire to be met by Christ precisely where he most wants to be with you: in your greatest vulnerability. That is the place where—if you will let him enter—he has the most to share with you.
This is my fourth year working as the faculty coordinator in the Peace and Justice/Gospel of Life Apostolate. I serve as a bridge between our faculty and the seminarians involved in this Apostolate. I also provide advice and follow-up with the student coordinator on the group’s projects.
Faculty Coordinator Patricia Klein
Every year has been different. Every student coordinator and every group of seminarians bring new ideas and initiatives. It is beautiful to see how the Holy Spirit has worked through them and made this Apostolate into what it is today. I am inspired by the love of Christ our seminarians demonstrate. I am touched by their desire to bring Christ to the most vulnerable and marginalized at our reach. Their commitment to the poor, to creation, to the marginalized within the borders of the United States as well as beyond, has comforted me. With God’s grace these young men will be priests of our Universal Catholic Church and they will see themselves as shepherds to all people, in their parishes and beyond. Through their efforts, they give all members of our Mundelein community the opportunity to share in Christ’s preferential option for the poor. This is a gift and a blessing because it is in serving others that we give glory to God and will find true healing for ourselves.
“Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,bringing the
afflicted and the homeless into your house; Clothing the naked when you see them,and not turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58: 7-8) These lines in Isaiah have always struck me. God calls us out of ourselves, out of our comfort zones to attend to those in need. When we are able to come out of ourselves in love, we find redemption. God, Himself gives us the example: He came to us, the ones in need of Redemption in the Person of Jesus Christ. In the Bible, we are reminded over and over again that God hears the cry of the poor. In our mission work, we were able to touch God’s presence in the life of those less fortunate than us. We have seen the face of God in His people, most especially in his “small people”, those who are often forgotten or overlooked because they, as Pope Francis writes in Evangelii Gaudium, “…in their difficulties they know the suffering Christ. We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them. The new evangelization is an invitation to acknowledge the saving power at work in their lives and to put them at the centre of the Church’s pilgrim way. We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them.” (#198) Serving in this Apostolate has been a true honor and joy. God is truly Mercy. May this Jubilee Year of Mercy bring abundant fruit in your lives and in those you love!
A few years ago, a friend of mine voiced to me that the bishop in her diocese had not been a good shepherd to his flock. He had not been sufficiently preaching the gospel, explaining the Church’s moral teachings, nor ensuring a reverent and proper celebration of the Liturgy. Instead, she cried out, her bishop was all about social justice.
Student Coordinator Nelson Cintra
In preparation for fulfilling the role of student coordinator of the Apostolate, I read Brandon Vogt’s Saints and Social Justice: A Guide to Changing the World. In the introduction, Vogt pointed out that the phrase “social justice” has gained a bad reputation over the last century. It has even lead one popular television commentator to warn his viewers to flee any church claiming an adherence to social justice. The problem for us Catholics, Vogt noted, is that the terms “social justice” and “economic justice” appear 115 times on the Vatican’s website. Since the writing of Rerum Novarum in 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, there have been twenty-five documents from the Vatican either directly or indirectly addressing issues of social justice. Furthermore, the Church has canonized a large number of men and women who have been champions of social justice throughout the world (Vogt highlights sixteen of them, including St. Thomas More, St. Benedict of Nursia, and St. Damien of Molokai). This apparent dichotomy begs the question: how are Catholics – especially priests and seminarians – supposed to approach social justice?
During this year, the formation I’ve received here has allowed me to see three key insights to help answer this question:
1
Jesus *is* the poor and marginalized. We’re familiar with
Matthew 25, “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” This principle was expounded on in several homilies throughout the year, particularly from Frs. Kartje and Hebden.
2
A properly Catholic passion for social justice must grounded
in the Liturgy and in the prayer of the Church. Bishop Barron told us so ad nauseam. “Outside of the prayer of the Church,” he reminded us, “the social justice commitment [doesn’t] mean anything. It [devolves] into mere social work.”
3
The poor are not problems to be solved, but persons to be
encountered and loved. In one of his trips to deliver hot breakfast and supplies to the homeless in Chicago, Edward Dannemiller and his group brought a personalized coffee mug as a birthday present to one of the men. They knew from the previous week when his birthday was and took advantage of the opportunity to make it a special day for him. His poverty and living condition were not solved that morning. Instead, individual persons encountered one another. It has been a blessing and a great learning experience to have served as the student coordinator for the Peace & Justice / Gospel of Life Apostolate alongside so many of my friends and classmates. As we move forward in our formation, my prayer is that we continue to be molded by the Holy Spirit to more fully participate in Christ’s own pastoral charity – including preaching the gospel, celebrating the Liturgy, and serving the poor and marginalized.
My first experience with the apostolate was a morning of prayer on the front lines of spiritual warfare. On a rainy Saturday morning we drove into the city to pray at an abortion clinic around the Forest Glen neighborhood. Being a Saturday we knew that there were likely abortions happening that morning. We met a few members of the local community who were already there praying and then we started a rosary as we stood in a line facing the clinic. We prayed for the babies whose lives were in danger, we prayed for the babies whose lives had been taken, we prayed for the mothers and fathers of those children, we prayed for the staff inside. Just a few feet away in the parking lot of the clinic was a group of mostly young clinic escorts who paid little attention to our presence. We prayed for them especially as they chatted and joked and played on their phones.
Prayer
Patrick Costello
At some point during our rosary a woman came out of the parking lot and approached our group. She casually came right up to us and proceeded to light a cigarette and smoke, walking slowly in front of our group, occasionally blowing smoke directly into our faces. She was so close that I noticed that we exhaled her smoke. She said nothing. We silently prayed that the Lord would bless her and heal her of any wound she was carrying. Eventually she went back to the clinic and soon our rosary was finished.
If smoke can be blown in our faces and can fill our lungs, how much more powerful is the outpouring of grace and mercy on a soul through the earnest prayers of others? Will not that soul be flooded with the love of those prayers and might even someday ‘exhale’ that love back to the world? I think Jesus showed us that morning why praying for those who persecute us is so important. After all, we are promised in Sacred Scripture that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Could ‘second-hand grace’ have been an opening for conversion that morning? We hope and pray so. Across the street from the clinic is The Women’s Center, a beautiful ministry offering medical, material, emotional, and spiritual support to women facing tough pregnancy situations. The staff and volunteers offer women real options and compassionate care. Prayer is central to that ministry, and the prayer volunteers even maintain a perpetual adoration chapel. It is a prime example of how ora et labora—prayer and work—go hand in hand in the Christian mission. In October we received the joyful news that the abortion clinic had closed. Grace has indeed abounded all the more.
I have been blessed because I got to see my brother seminarians serve the poor. Three examples come to mind.
Service
Edward Dannemiller
First, some Saturday mornings I have brought various seminarians to pass out blankets to people living on the streets of Chicago. If they have never done it before, then they are almost always a little nervous, a little apprehensive. That apprehension soon disappears and they are enjoying talking and praying with people. Christ drives out our fears of serving the poor with a love of serving the poor. Second, each year the Franciscans of the Eucharist host a big Christmas party complete with a good meal, toys for the kids, and a prayer service. This past year when they needed volunteers I had the pleasure of bringing a group to help. One of the best parts was helping kids pick out their Christmas gifts from all the donations that the Franciscans had received leading up to the party. It was quite the sight watching us seminarians carrying an armful of toys, as a kid would rush
ahead looking for one more to add to the stack. Ultimately it is Christ who is the cause of our joy and who reminds us to be joyful as children. Third, someone came to me with the idea of packing food for children in need around the world. I gave advice on advertising and organizing, but it was an opportunity for me in directing while someone else brought the event together. The day came and there we were, twenty guys in hair nets with a scooper for rice in one hand, a scooper for dried vegetables in the other, and smiles on our faces. We packaged enough food to feed twenty kids for a year. This goes to show that Christ is at work in those around us and allows us to do things we could not have done on our own.
The whole purpose of the service branch as I see it is to let the seminarians of Mundelein express the Christian charity they have in their hearts for the poor. That charity was initially planted by Christ, and comes to its fullness in serving Christ in the least of His people. The service branch just provides the opportunity for that charity to show itself.
When I finally came to the seminary, I was happy to find new ways to feed the service-oriented avenue of my faith, but I have to admit there was some internal opposition along the way. Sometimes in the Church we find a division between studying theology and serving the poor and marginalized. I didn’t even think of it at first. I liked chopping wood and I was happy to find an informal conversational outlet for topics that I found interesting (along with some really good coffee). Then I was introduced to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy with (then) Fr. Barron’s second semester rector’s address last year. “Those are hard,” I thought. Some of the things on that list are not easy to do. But a life in Christ was never promised to be easy. Yet on the other end is so much joy, and richness, and depth in your faith.
Education
Michael Berndt
Being the head of Education, I am responsible for educating the community on these works of mercy, which are a huge part of Catholic teaching. It has admittedly been a challenge at times, finding topics that people would be interested in and even challenging myself to learn more about these topics of social justice. The talks have been terrific. You learn something every time that you can take to the bank. One in particular that stood out to me was Vicki Thorn, and especially her bringing attention to the men who are also abortion victims. I was enlightened, and I am grateful for it. The greatest nugget that I have learned in my whole involvement with PJ/GL has been a conversation that I had with the previous chair, Kevin Earlywine, and I believe he summed up the whole Apostolate in one simple sentence: “we love Christ, ergo we love our neighbor.” That is why the Apostolate runs. That is the reason it exists. It’s that simple, there’s no need to complicate it. We are called to love our poor neighbor, our hurting neighbor, our struggling neighbor, our cold and hungry neighbor. We love Christ, so we pray for and love the Body of Christ.
As Aristotle says, the virtuous life, once practiced, can eventually become a habit. I hope that my participation in this Apostolate will help me to regularly contemplate the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. A habit accompanied by action. This could be something as simple as a Hail Mary when we see or hear something in the news that strikes us, and on the other end, challenging to stretch myself when I find myself too comfortable in my own box. I am also grateful for even the practical side of my involvement of initiating, marketing and putting on events. These are great things to bring with me as I continue my seminary formation.
In the Scriptures, wells are places of encounter, conversion, and charity. They are places where lives are changed. Rebekah encounters Abraham’s servant at a well and becomes Isaac’s wife. Their son, Jacob, meets and falls in love Rachel at a well, and they are ultimately married. Centuries later, Jesus encounters a Samaritan women at Jacob’s well, she is converted, and becomes a missionary to her community. These life-giving human encounters reflect the nature of wells themselves. Often dug in the midst of barren lands, they tap into unseen sources of water that lie deep beneath the ground and draw it to the surface where it can become a source of life for the people and their flocks. The water is there all along, but it must be tapped into and brought to the surface.
Advocacy
Patrick Gorman
Over the past two years serving with the Peace and Justice / Gospel of Life apostolate, and now serving as the Advocacy Chair, I have seen firsthand how much latent potential, latent charity, resides within our seminarian community just waiting to be tapped into. When the Samaritan woman woke that morning, she had no idea that she would encounter the Messiah and that she would end the day serving as His missionary. Jesus encountered her on a personal basis, one on one, creating the space for her to say ‘yes’ to Him. Her ‘yes’ then bore immediate fruit as she evangelized her community. Her community seized the opportunity to invite Jesus to stay with them, allowing them to encounter God and leading to their proclamation that they had found the savior of the world. Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman is a model for all of us to reflect upon. How can we tap into the latent charity that exists within our communities? In the PJ/GL apostolate, I have learned the power of simply providing
opportunities for others and personally inviting them to serve. This year, we have worked to build and strengthen our community by inviting seminarians from dioceses around the world to share about their experiences of the Church in their own homes. We have supported the global Church through fasting and almsgiving. Following the Holy Father’s call to be stewards of our common home, we have striven to find ways to increase conservation and reduce waste. We have supported life and the Women’s Center in Chicago. Time and time again, we have seen incredible responses from our community after being presented with an opportunity and an invitation.
The PJ/GL apostolate has been an important part of my own personal formation as I draw nearer to ordination. I will take the lessons I’ve learned and the ways I’ve grown in the seminary with me into the parish. All of us are like the Samaritan woman in some way. We all have been given gifts to use in the building up of God’s Church and we all live within communities brimming with latent charity that is just waiting to be tapped into. Our Messiah is inviting us to discover and use those gifts and to release their potential and the potential of those around us.