JPIC Summer Service Experience

by: friar Alejandro Arias, OFM Conv.             I find myself disconnected from beauty and from reality when I am so connected through social media.   Being connected is so important in life. As humans we were created to be relational. We are always seeking relationships, created by a relational, triune God. But I find myself unable to connect if my eyes are fixed on my phone all the time. I needed to disconnect to connect with reality, and this is something that I found to be profound in the lives of Russ and Renee.  Russ and Renee are a lovely couple that live off the grid in Kentucky. NO electricity! Their house is like something you would find in the Shire. Everything is made out of wood and in harmony with nature - it’s amazing. Their hospitality was nothing short of that of a family of Hobbits, with food coming fresh from their garden, including freshly baked pies, and conversation that lingered for hours and included the reciting o...

by: friar Jaime Zaragoza, OFM Conv. In North Carolina, I was able to see where people from Mexico migrate to after arriving to the United States.  I was very surprised to hear from the U.S. community how welcoming and accepting they were.  I believe it has a lot to do with Fr. Julio.  Fr. Julio has been the first to say to me that he loves to be a parish priest, he gets to reopen the bridges and fixes them to help the people come together. What I will take with me is one thing Fr. Julio said, "One must get to know themselves and be comfortable with themselves, and then they can be a good pastor."  I believe this to be true because I was able to spend time with Fr. Julio's parish and experience the joy and vibrancy of two cultures coming together.

by: friar Rich Rome, OFM Conv. “I can’t believe that you all are here.”   While our tour of the town was scheduled, it was not intricately planned.   We were just stopping casually at places of interest that our local guides thought we would be of benefit.   As we were walking along a street in the old part of Siler City, where many immigrant families first settle, we stopped by some of the houses.   We were eight: five friars plus our three locals.   Our third stop began by encountering the lady of the house in the driveway, who was shocked that we had come by.   “My father is inside and he is dying.” We offered to pray with her, and she was happy to have us do so.   She ushered us into the house and started introducing us to her husband, her daughter and two sons.   We prayed with the whole family, all of us still in shock at this turn of providence.   After the prayers, we remained with the family and spoke with them.   As...

by: friar Angel Garcia, OFM Conv. As we move forward in our journey from Maryland to North Carolina, we are seeing more people and having more experiences on the way that, as Franciscans, we need to give attention to in order to respond with a better approach in ministry. I would like to speak about immigration in this country, that I see is moving in a different direction, even though this country has been an immigrant since its foundation. The new immigrant people (especially from Mexico and Central and South America) are moving to the United States because they are fleeing from their countries due to the increase of violence, poverty, and (in many cases) government repression.    As a result, we have the presence of the Latino community at St. Julia parish in the small town of Siler City, N. C. They represent different taste from Latino America: Guatemalans, Salvadorians, Nicaraguans, and Mexicans. This reality represents a richness of life, rather than ...

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...