Last December, I received an email from Father Cyrus Rowan, who is assistant pastor at St. Wenceslaus Parish and a teacher at Bishop Neumann Junior and Senior High School in Wahoo. Each year, Bishop Neumann holds a one-day retreat during which the students volunteer somewhere off campus. This year, the eighth grade chose Catholic Social Services.
A busload of eighth-graders pulled into the parking lot at our St. Joseph Center Feb. 1 and gathered in our lobby outside the St. Joseph Chapel. After thanking them, and saying a few words about how privileged we are for having Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament with us on site, we gathered in the chapel for a prayer.
Soon after this, the students split into several groups- one for making sandwiches for the homeless and near homeless, another to separate donated diapers into individual bags for distribution based on size, and another for cleaning.
It is one thing to make a sandwich for yourself or another family member, but it is another making one for someone who is living on the streets or is barely making ends meet.
It is one thing changing a diaper of a younger sibling or a baby that one is babysitting. It is another thing preparing bags of diapers for women who are unable to afford them.
After two hours of work, the students gathered in our St. Joseph Chapel for the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This was the most important part of the day. When we consume regular food, the food becomes part of us. When we consume the Eucharist, we become like the very food we consume. In reading the lives of the saints, one thing is clear: the two most common denominators among them all are an intense love of the Blessed Sacrament, and the poor. After lunch, they headed back to Bishop Neumann for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. On the first of February, they were able to adore and love Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and His presence in the poor.
I would like to thank the faculty, staff and the eighth graders at Bishop Neuman for thinking of CSS while holding this retreat conjoined with a service project, as it is a way of teaching students the connection between the love of God and their neighbors. What a great way of starting early! Please be assured of our prayers for you all.
