Opening Our Eyes by Steve Seitz

This week's blog post comes from Steve Seitz, a past chaperone, and his reflections on how Nazareth Farm opened his eyes... this was published in the June 28, 2009 edition of The Catholic Moment (page 9).

Nazareth Farm experience opens eyes and hearts

I recently had the good fortune of chaperoning a group of kids on a week long mission to a special place... Nazareth Farm.

Nazareth Farm is a service-oriented ministry in the Appalachian hill country of West Virginia. Its mission is two-fold: to live out the call of Jesus to love and serve our neighbor, and to introduce people of all ages to the great blessing to be found in answering that call. Nazareth Farm has been succeeding at both for 30 years.

As soon as we arrived, I knew this would be a unique experience for me. We pulled into the driveway as the staff all came out of the house to welcome us. Anyone watching would have thought we were there to visit family. In a very real sense, I guess we were.

Our small group from St. Louis de Montfort Church, Fishers, was not the only one. By the end of the evening, groups from five other parishes/ schools arrived - all strangers to each other. In less than 24 hours, we were friends and family, celebrating being together for a common purpose.

We were there as volunteers. Nazareth Farm provides home repair to people who might otherwise live in homes they are physically and/or financially unable to maintain properly. In keeping with Catholic social teaching, the dignity of the homeowners is respected in that they are asked to pay for materials, with all the labor provided by volunteers. Through a special arrangement with the farm, the cost of materials is not allowed to be a barrier to people having proper housing.

The truly amazing thing that happens on the farm is this: Volunteers come, expecting to work in the homes of people living in an economically impoverished area and they go home amazed at the work the Holy Spirit has done in the hearts of people living in a spiritually impoverished world.

At one moment in prayer, we listened as "Open the Eyes of My Heart" was sung. Should we have been surprised when our prayer was answered? Of course, the challenge for us is to keep those eyes open now that we are all back home.

The work was more strenuous than many of us had done for a long time, if ever. Volunteers were divided into six groups, and off we went each day.

Armed with love, cold water, a cooler full of lunch and little experience, we tackled the work laid out for us. One group worked on putting a new metal roof on a couple's home. another installed siding. Still another rolled out fresh tar over a leaky roof.

The most meaningful work for my crew was installing a fenced play area for a little girl. She lives with her grandmother, who worried that the child would wander too near a deep creek or too close to a busy road that borders their property. We worked in the heat and rain, but at the end of each day our group was still smiling, glad to be together.

Our eyes truly were opened to what can happen when we make ourselves available to the Holy spirit. He was present there with us and with the people who allowed us to serve them in Jesus' name.

In giving, we received. It was an awesome week.

How have your eyes been opened by this experience?

If you have reflections you'd like to post feel free to send them our way!

Simplicity: What it means to be "humble"

When we are able to extend simplicity beyond material matters and to a mental simplicity it is common that we think about being humble. The desire for humility makes us think that we should deny all compliments and direct all attention away from ourselves... that we are not worthy of praise but only giving of ourselves. I'm no Latin expert, and I have a bad memory of where I read this, but I read once that to be humble is to acknowledge our own humanity. In that acknowledgment we become aware of our own limitations, the fact that we have faults and make common mistakes. But in that process we also come to know ourselves and that is what really makes us humble. When we know what drives us and what turns us off to the world around us. When we know what our strengths are and the things that really challenge us. In doing that we become willing to use those desires and strengths to give of ourselves, but we also use those turn offs and challenges to challenge ourselves to give to others. And if we are able to know ourselves to this level, then we also enable ourselves to receive praise and to praise others as well. There's a reason we give work groups the time to affirm one another on Friday afternoons, so that they can realize their own gifts and receive that praise, but also recognize the gifts of others and how our humanity calls us to be interdependent.

Spend some time this week reflecting on your own humility. Do you know yourself well enough that you can accept and give affirmation? Why or why not? Do you use your gifts to give of yourself? If so, how? If not, how could you? Challenge yourself to grow by spending some time reflecting on what makes you who you are. That is what makes you humble.

Bringing it Home with Tina

This weeks post comes from former staff member Tina Marquart who now works at the Hospitality House in Alderson, WV. Tina enthralls us with her wisdom this week...

A simple truth: “So many want to live at the top of the mountain, but few realize that the growth and happiness occur while you’re climbing it.”

On many a Saturday morning at the Farm, I would listen to the story of the Transfiguration. Now when I hear that story, my thoughts drift fondly to those ridiculously early mornings in the OC. And like I would then, I still smile at Peter’s excitement, at our shared humanity, when he exclaims: “Lord! It is good that we’re here!” In the immediate wake of his revelation is his intense longing to remain there, in that moment, with Jesus. I can almost see James and John gathering sticks for a celebratory bonfire J I’m sure we’ve all felt that way! When we catch a glimpse of our Lord transfigured, of Heaven on Earth, of the breathtaking view at the top and feel pure jubilation and wonder pulsing through our veins, of course we want to stay!!! Oh, but friends, we are called to live every step of the journey: up each precarious inch of the ascent, in amazement at the grandeur of the top, and down every reflective stride of the decent. And we are to keep this in mind: while our first mountain is no doubt a sacred part of our journey and a most enriching experience, that first mountain is never intended to be our only.

So, what did I learn from the Farm?

One of the most prominent truths I hold to is that I am called to live every one of my days just as intentionally as I did at the Farm. Certainly my days now are drastically different from my days at the Farm, but today is as much of a gift as were those days. These sights and sounds, painted and composed by the same Creator, are just as magnificent. The companions on this stretch of my journey are just as cherished by the Beloved and deserving of my patience, kindness and compassion. Truly, the point of a mountain isn’t to memorize it and recreate that experience everywhere and with everyone else. In living that way, we will most assuredly be disappointed in our days. Rather, the point is to take the lessons learned (to join in a fabulous game of hide and seek with the Beloved, to tread lightly on this gorgeous Earth with which we’ve been gifted, to see the face of Christ in those I encounter, and moreover, my inherent connection to each of those souls, to serve, to be lovingly honest, to pray, to give hugs, and to dance) and keep on keepin’ on.

I hope and pray that each of us can accept with grace the paths to which we are called and that we are able to make the trip learning and loving the aches and truths along the way. May we always be able to value the mountain behind us, and summon the tenacity to keep hiking J Happy trails, friends!

Service: Sharing Our Desires with God

Let's admit it, sometimes we can't do anything but think about the future, about what opportunities lie ahead of us and how much we might want to pursue a certain one. Then when that opportunity that we were looking forward to so much doesn't work out we become upset. But lets ask ourselves, why are we upset? Is it because we made a mistake? Or is it that the lack of control we have over our own lives hits us like a brick and makes us realize that God is in control rather than ourselves.

Maybe we're hoping to make plans with a friend and then something sudden changes those plans. Possibly we're looking at a university to pursue a bachelors or masters degree but are then rejected by that university. Maybe we're wanting to get to bed a bit earlier but then a friend in need keeps us up late. There are common, and somewhat small, examples of those times when our lack of control becomes so apparent. Instead of becoming upset and so greatly frustrated we should be turning to God. We should be saying, "Ok, that's not what you're calling to, show me your will..." We should be putting ourselves at the service of our Creator so that we can grow closer to God but also help those around us grow closer to God as well. But first we need to share our desires with God so that we can lead a life of prayer. This doesn't mean to put our desires aside, or to completely push aside all initiative towards those things we want to pursue, but instead to prayerfully pursue those opportunities and people around us. Let us seek to live a life of service and not be too caught up in what lies ahead. Be present to God, yourself and those around you so that you may be of service.