Going to the Dump

Details: 04 November 2011

vI've heard it said, "There is nothing like going to the dump!" For those who feel this way, I respectfully disagree. Over the past 12 months, I have gone on at least four "dump runs," two that are personal and two for CSS.

I remember one such time I borrowed a van without seats and drove to my parents’ home. I had intended to spend the day clearing brush in their back yard and taking it to the local landfill.

Upon arriving and opening the garage door, I gazed upon the 30-plus years of "stuff" piled in the garage and thought, "Now is the time to purge this garage of all of this ‘junk’!" Some went in the van for a dump run, the rest of the good items were set aside for Catholic Social Services.

After opening all of the doors of the van, I started loading up the many items that have been collecting dust for decades. There was an old screen door, old pieces of wood (sorry, Harry…) and many other sundry items. Soon the seat-less van was completely filled with items ‘squirreled’ away over a 30-year period.

Upon arriving at the city dump I rolled down the window and smelled an old familiar odor, one that will never be used as a cologne or aftershave fragrance. After paying the customary fee, I was given directions to where to ‘dump’ the contents of the van.

After waiting in line for a moment, I backed the van up and threw the items with reckless abandon into a pile already present. It was a liberating feeling, and I drove away feeling free. Yes, the dump is a place where one can take their problems and leave them there.

When I hear, "There is nothing like going to the dump," I say, "Isn’t going to confession like this?"

When someone goes to confession, they may have to wait in line for a moment after which they take their garbage of sin inside the confessional. After absolution, they walk away liberated, with their souls cleansed. The penance given is like paying the dump fee.

But let none of us wait till the garage is filled with ‘stuff,’ or our souls with sin. Let us throw out what is bad and donate what is good to CSS on a regular basis, and receive the sacrament of penance frequently to rid ourselves of sin and to receive a frequent dose of grace, or God’s divine life.

While talking about dump runs, most material donations to Catholic Social Services are wonderful, but every once in a while people bring us items that are only good for the dump, hence the need for us to go on periodic dump runs. This necessitates having several box trucks which are used to pick up items from generous people like you, delivering items to the poor and needy and on occasion going to the city dump.

Because of the daily use of our trucks, we are now in need of another box truck. We have found a 2003 Ford E-350 with a 14-foot box with low miles for only $12,750. With a trade-in and some money that has come in we are only in need of $3,000 to make the deal work.

We are praying that some generous souls will come forth so we can keep on trucking…

Thanks to all of our benefactors and please remember, you are all in our daily prayers!