Stop. Look. See. Love.

"You looked at me. You stopped to talk to me. Nobody hardly ever does that."

These words stopped us in our tracks.

Having come together with other young adults in the Archdiocese of Chicago to deliver food and water to people on the streets of Chicago and to engage in conversation with them, it was a cold night to be walking the downtown streets. We had just stopped for a few moments to talk to a woman named Sharon, a Chicago native as it turns out, and had made our way a bit further up Michigan Avenue when we met Lucy. The leader of our group, a senior at Loyola Chicago and a member of their Labre service group, seemed to recognize her from before (as he often served on the same route), but the rest of us had never met her. She was a bit standoffish at first, but then she really just wanted to talk.

And that's when she said it to us: "You looked at me. You stopped to talk to me. Nobody hardly ever does that."

At that moment, I looked around at the many people walking up and down the street, coming back from dinner or shopping in some of the high end retail stores. Others seemed to just be on their way home. I saw myself among them (minus the high end retail store shopping) - how many times do I pass by people on the street because I am in a hurry or because talking to them might be uncomfortable or for any other silly reason? It was disheartening and enlightening at the same time. We take human interaction for granted, but some of these people I met on Monday night hadn't had any real interaction all day.

Everyone has a story. Everyone has a name. Why is it so hard for us to recognize that?

So, when you're reading this, please take a moment to pray for Sharon, and Lucy, and Anthony, and Tyler, and Rich... And if you ever see them on Michigan Avenue, please make sure you take a moment to stop and say hello.

Shaking things up with Pope Francis

Pope Francis was in America this past week, and, while I could not physically be in DC or NY or Philly, I did my best to celebrate here in Chicago...

Yes, that's my little Flat Francis in the background. (I also got a matching shirt for my sister.)

It was somewhat difficult to keep up with the events in real time, so these websites were (and remain) my go-to's for playing catch up:

*America Magazine's coverage

*USCCB's coverage, including videos from all the live streaming events

*Pope Francis's visit 2015 coverage (this is the site I got the shirt from)

There was quite a bit of excitement (or, at least, talk) surrounding the Pope's visit at school, with my family, and with many friends. But, on the flipside, I think that since Pope Francis is very much centered on reaching out to those on the margins and making a place for everyone, regardless of circumstance or past history, in the church, that some people were turned off by his visit and became closed off to his messages surrounding immigrants, the death penalty, the homeless, etc. 

And this makes me sad because Jesus himself dined with sinners and chose to spend his time with those on the outskirts of society. In the video (from the USCCB website) I watched from Pope Francis at the prison in Pennsylvania, he reminded everyone how we are all sinners in need of God's mercy - we must first find the log in our own eyes.

Pope Francis came to shake us up - it should make us uncomfortable because chances are many of us may be doing something, but there are things we can do more and better. (Trust me on this one - I'm right there with you.) 

Thank you, Pope Francis, for your example, your wisdom, and your courage!

You've Got to Be Taught

Never have I been a more firm believer of the idea that you have to be taught prejudice and fear, just like the classic musical, "South Pacific," reminds us:

One of my 8th grade students took the initiative to present to her classmates about her summer experience at a leadership institute through one of the local universities that allowed her some field experience working with the homeless population in our city. I could clearly see that spending time just talking to people had made a huge impact on her outlook, no matter what preconceived notions she had before. Her classmates, on the other hand, who did not have such an experience, were quick to offer their own "experiences" of seeing people on the street who take money given to them to buy cigarettes or drugs.

"Why don't they get a job?"

"Why don't they just go to school?"

Do you hear what you're saying? (Probably not - it's probably just repeating what they hear their parents say...) What would you do if you had to choose between providing shelter for your family or getting them food? What would you do if  you were mentally ill (or someone in your immediate family was) and you couldn't afford medicine without forgoing other necessities?

The young people I teach have not even begun to grasp how fortunate and privileged they are - not everyone in this world can send their children to private/Catholic school, let alone one like ours with such fine facilities and opportunities. And why should we be so lucky to have these chance? There's no answer - it's pretty simple and straightforward: many of my students have won the proverbial "middle to upper white class" genetic lottery - they were born into their families, doing nothing to earn where they are today.

It's so easy for those of us privileged with opportunities to point fingers at those who have less, when, in reality, we need to turn those fingers around and ask ourselves what God wants of us because we've been blessed with so much. We are in the prime positions to make a difference. (Granted, I'm a Catholic elementary school teacher so it's not like I have money flowing out of my bank account, but it's enough to get by on and then some, for sure.)

My 8th graders are on the brink of their unit on Catholic Social Teaching, so this is as good a time as any to address these prejudices. But I've been in enough situations to realize that it's going to take more than merely trying to tell them facts, figures, and stories - their prejudices may never change (or at least maybe not until they get a chance to spend time with others outside of their immediate social class), but I'm going to try. I'm trying to think through some optional enrichment projects that include students reading a book like Crenshaw, Paper Things, or No Place (any other suggestions are welcome too!), and then having them spend time on websites or with agencies that reach out to those in need in our community (church or otherwise). With the insight from the book and information researched, I am hoping they can put together a Prezi, Weebly, iMovie, etc. that helps them demonstrate some new-found understanding and just maybe helps them start to shift their views towards homelessness in our community.