[Not] Seeing the Face of Christ in the Homeless

By Artur Suski, S.J.

a-revolt.org

Three weeks in the Paris of North America. Three weeks contemplating the suffering and rejected Christ. Three weeks of soul-searching.

Though a Jesuit’s summer is often full of Jesuit-formation activities, such as making one’s own eight-day retreat and attending formation gatherings, there are chunks of time that often lend themselves to creativity. I had three weeks at my disposal and I decided to make good use of them. I have been the last three weeks in Montreal, volunteering at a well-established (since 1877) soup kitchen and shelter – Accueil Bonneau.

My initial decision was simply to come to Montreal in order to polish my French. Not really knowing how to go about doing this in a most effective way, I asked some French Canadian Jesuits for some suggestions. After a few email exchanges it was decided that I’d have lots of French conversation at a soup kitchen. Hence Accueil Bonneau.

Christ in the Streets of Vancouver

By John D. O'Brien, S.J.

I regularly go with a group of college students at night to the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver. That area is sometimes called “Canada’s poorest postal code” on account of its high concentration of hostels and flophouses. Once there, we set up a couple of foldable tables on the sidewalk and give out cups of hot chocolate and bran muffins. During these visits to the DTES, we meet and engage in friendly conversation with a variety of people: homeless, drug-addicts, prostitutes, or residents simply passing by. Some do not want to talk much. Others seem grateful to linger and chat about life. A number of these encounters will remain on our memories for a long time.

One of the people we met is Barney.* He told us he was homeless, but survived by hustling and the free meals the various missions provide. Barney stayed talking with us for a while, would disappear, then return again, each time asking for more muffins. Eventually he admitted they were for his friends on the sidewalk around the block, telling us they were crack dealers, and couldn’t leave their spots or they’d lose business.

The Cross: An Encounter with God and Our (Suffering) Brothers and Sister

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads. —Mark 15:21–27

We often feel like once we have mastered the basics, we can move on to the more complicated stuff. But the basics, the foundations of our faith, can never be mastered or completed. They bear repeating again and again. The cross is just such a foundation. We must return to it again and again and continue to discover it. St. Augustine is said to have declared, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song”. But, in this happy season, what is the place of the cross?