Last week a little boy got passed security and wandered on stage during Pope Francis' general audience (see video link below). With a gentle smile on his face, the Pope instructed those around him to, "leave him, let him play." The autistic boy was mute, Pope Francis learned, and he paused for a moment and reflected on the interruption, on how this little boy communicates and asked out loud if he had the same freedom (perhaps a bit more disciplined) as this boy. On Saturday, Fr. Rich at the 4:30 Mass at Saint Frances in Yucaipa, used this video to talk about God's interruptions and how do we respond to them, especially in this Advent season. Do we embrace them with gladness as Pope Francis did with the little boy, or do we worry and fight them? God will interrupt our lives, that you can count on. How will we respond when it happens? Recently, with all the challenging things happening in my life, my response has been to worry and be upset. I liked what Fr. Rich said about embracing God's interruptions with gladness. Advent is a good time for me, and all of us, to prepare for God's interruptions with joyful hearts, ask him where he's taking us with them, to reflect on them, and to see the good that is there if we can just but get past the worrying or being upset.
Our 7th grader today speaks to us adults, and like Pope Francis and Fr. Rich, gets us to see things in a different way. She encourages us to think of reasons to do something instead of being close-minded - essentially, she is helping us see interruptions not as problems, but something good.
Radical Community Care
by Morgan
Radical community care means to do something for your community in the most extravagant way possible. Some ways that we care for our community is simply by giving canned food at Mass or praying, but we can do so much more if we put the time and effort into it.
Some ways that we can radically care for our community are by holding a neighborhood wide, or even maybe city wide, canned food drive. You could also go to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross with some friends and personally give your old clothes or toys to them instead of just dropping them off. Another way we can help is by volunteering whenever and wherever we can.
Most people think that since we're just kids we can't do much, but we can. The difference between kids and adults is that kids are open-minded; we can do anything if we believe that it's possible, but most adult think of reasons not to. So, go, volunteer, go donate, because together we can spread radical community care to everyone.
With Advent coming up, and as we prepare for the Prince of Peace, last week 7th grade watched the Pope Video "In the Service of Peace." I was pleased that they were reading what the Pope said (the videos are in Spanish with English subtitles) and taking it to heart. I know this because quite a few of the reflections mentioned something the Pope had said. Overall they liked the video, but one voiced concern that the two men painted graffiti, even if what they spray on the wall is something good. Their comments were also longer this time: "I really enjoyed the video and what Pope Francis had to say. I also really enjoyed the dove image at the end."; "I saw faith in this video through Pope Francis' words. He spoke of peace and the video showed the world as if there was no violence."; "It shows faith in the video because it shows peace in the video and that you can love anyone even if you do or don't know them, and came from somewhere else. Also, that you can commit a crime in a good way."; "Peace is important. It is essential for a happier world. God helps us gain peace and love for others. The video was good because I assumed that the guys would write something bad."; "Pope Francis explains that peace is all we need. Peace only comes from faith in God." https://www.thepopevideo.org/
Boy interrupts Pope Francis' general audience: https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/nov/28/pope-francis-chuckles-as-boy-runs-around-swiss-guard-video
Cinema for the Soul: A raggedy colorful coat, as well as faith and the power of love, help a family overcome tragedy. Based on the true story of Dolly Parton's upbringing, this coat of many colors helped make her the person who she is today. Come for this free event in the basement of the Olive location this Thursday, December 6th, at 7pm.
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister