JPIC Summer Service Experience

by: friar Rich Rome, OFM Conv. One of my favorite TV comedies, Arrested Development, chronicles the antics of the hyper-affluent Bluth family who develop real estate in California.   With one exception, they are all completely (and hilariously) disconnected from the real world.   And the way the show drives that point home is that each character has a unique “chicken dance”.   Whenever one character accuses another of being a chicken, they mockingly perform their version of the dance – none of these versions bear any resemblance to a real chicken ( see gif below ). While some societies for religious or cultural reasons do not eat pork or beef, almost every society eats chicken.   Just about everyone on earth understands what a chicken is like (hence, the comedy of the show).   But how connected are we on where our chicken comes from?   Our time in Ellicott City, MD and Siler City, NC revolved a lot around chickens.   In Maryland, ...

by: friar Jaime Zaragoza, OFM Conv. Our Maryland trip helped us to reconnect with the care of creation at the grass roots level; this was addressed in two areas.  Firstly, at the Chesapeake Bay with "Col. Dennis", and learning about what is required to create an equilibrium in an environment so that it may continue to be resourceful.  Secondly, was on the Little Portion Farm in Ellicott City with Farmer Matt, who showed me the importance of restoring a farm that had been non-organic.  Disconnecting with my normal routine to reconnect with nature has taught me the importance of balance, and I found this in creation. On the Chesapeake Bay with Col. Dennis, I was able to see the importance of reconnecting to our water resources and the different dynamics that make up the equilibrium.  These dynamics evolve around the native blue crabs: if rock fish (AKA striped bass) season is good, the crab season will be bad.  Additionally, the introduction of non-native ...

by: friar Alejandro Arias, OFM Conv. We are surrounded by beauty all the time, but it seems that we are not able to see beauty anymore. Our eyes are fixed to our smartphones and we forget that there is another world out there. I have experienced the loss of beauty in my own life. I have found myself disconnected from reality when I am connected virtually with other people through social media. The screen has become a wall and that wall has block my vision from beauty.     During our trip between Shamokin and Maryland, we had the opportunity to go off-roading and hiking and celebrate The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the mountains. It was during Mass that the sense of beauty came back to me. I was able to experience God’s beauty through the real presence and also through sister nature. I have attended so many Masses in my life but was not able to connect the Mass with nature because Mass is always celebrated in a building decorated with beautiful images made by man tha...

by: friar Angel Garcia, OFM Conv. After being in Shamokin, Pennsylvania and experiencing great people with fascinating stories, we moved along to Maryland.   I was trying to identify what is possible in a better justice system, and how that differed from the typical justice system that I was accustomed to see everywhere, not just in El Salvador (where I coming from), but in everywhere.  But I discovered something else on the road as we continue as friars our summer experience.   I saw while I was in Baltimore a different direction. For example, we were introduced to a different kind of judge.   Dennis M. Robinson Jr. is trying to do something different and more balanced by recognizing that, no matter what, every individual is important and to see them as human beings deserving of respect, and also balancing mercy & justice by giving them a second chance in the society. We were observers in his courtroom at the Circuit Court in Baltimore county ...

by: friar Jason Warrer, OFM Conv. After Shamokin, we headed to Ellicott City, to the Shrine of St. Anthony.   We helped out at the Festival of St. Anthony on June 8th by setting up and meeting with the pilgrims. Fr. Eric asked us to pray with the pilgrims who came.   One of the brothers and I had a prayer station inside the courtyard, and, during their afternoon breaks, people came and asked us to pray with them.   For me it was moving; I was able to reconnect with the pilgrims by listening to their needs and pray with them.  Many of the pilgrims were crying, others felt at peace.   It was the Holy Spirit touching them because we both believe and trust in God who is so good and merciful, and we are open to the Holy Spirit.   At the end of the festival, we were tired: we prayed from noon to 4pm and it can be draining, because you give away to the people the energy that God gives us.   It was a good experience to be open to people and recon...

by: friar Rich Rome, OFM Conv. I don’t think I’ve ever spent a week thinking so much about what is underneath my feet.   It's just something that I easily take for granted, right next to the air we breathe.   E ven though mining operations ceased decades ago, coal still casts a large shadow in Shamokin.   Countless organizations and businesses have the word “anthracite” in their title, an homage to the specific & rare type of hard coal which built the town.   Houses and buildings are proudly painted dark gray or black.   The main altar, blessed sacrament altar, and ambo at Mother Cabrini Church all sit atop plinths of coal.   Gift shops offer pieces as souvenirs (although you can often find a freebie if you root through a gravel pile), but also coal rock candy, coal licorice, and coal bubble gum.   The Heritage Restaurant, which is seeking to honor the culture and history of Shamokin, has a beautiful mural painted on the side of it.   The...

by: friar Alejandro Arias, OFM Conv. "Arriving at an older age is to be considered a privilege: not simply because not everyone has the good fortune to reach this stage in life, but also, and above all, because this period provides real possibilities for better evaluating the past, for knowing and living more deeply the Paschal Mystery, for becoming an example in the Church for the whole People of God." - Pope John Paul II This is exactly what our brother Tony, is doing in his latter part of his life. He has been living the Paschal Mystery in a profound way that has inspired me to begin living a holier life. Tony is a person that has many stories to tell us about his life in Shamokin, PA, from his childhood, when most of the family life was surrounded by coal mining, to bar fights that he has witnessed, to moments that he has encountered Christ in people that he at least expected. As young people, we think that we have all eternity to change our life. We might...

by: friar Angel Garcia, OFM Conv. She represents situations that many of us would abandon because of frustration or impatience. However, Judy is something else.   She, as a Shamokin native, has been growing and living with people that have been broken and sometimes are in desperate need of help.   I see her as a faithful disciple in the middle of the storm that is trying to do something in the community, even to the point of running for office this past local election. She continues to be an inspirational figure in the community of Shamokin because, with her own example, Judy tries to love her town as much she can and tell the people around her that is possible to love and to fight the good battle.  For me, this continues to be something very inspirational in today's society, because God continues to shows us that it is possible to create something different, beautiful, and great in the Shamokin town, and in every place, if people like Judy help us to see something els...

by: friar Jaime Zaragoza, OFM Conv. I was given the opportunity to do a ride-along with a police officer in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. In this Anthracite Coal Region, drugs have become a major problem, younger generations leaving for college and not returning to care for their town has become a problem, and, most of all, the forced downsizing of the police force has become a problem.   On arriving, I found out that there are eight full-time officers that make up the department, plus two new officers right out of the academy.   I could not believe that eight officers were all that they had.   Officer Josh allowed me to follow him for a shift. I was expecting to see corruption on all levels, but instead I saw, and experienced, hope on all levels.   On this ride-along, I was enlightened by the vision of closeness with the people and law enforcement.   Officer Josh was firm but caring, was always searching for truth, and was honest when correcting injustice. ...

by: friar Jason Warrer, OFM Conv. When we first arrived in Shamokin/Coal Township, we stopped at the Heritage Restaurant where we met Kathy, a friend of Fr. Lasky.  Kathy was sharing with us how Shamokin used to be, how it has been dying out, and how she is rebuilding Shamokin and making it a better place that people who pass by may stop and enjoy the town that has so much history.  She felt a call from God to start rebuilding the town, one building at a time (something we were able to help her with later in our stay). As we sat and listened to her story, it reminded me of the similarity to St. Francis.  I remembered how Francis started in the rundown church of San Damiano, and he heard Jesus from the crucifix tell him, "Francis, go and rebuild my church that you see if falling into ruin."  I could say the same thing about Kathy: like St. Francis, she heard a call to rebuild a town that was falling into ruin.  Also like St. Francis, she goes out and do...