Men's Works of Mercy Mission

From March 23rd to 28th, 18 men from the Newman Center went to San Francisco on their spring break to serve with the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta, at both a hospice home and soup kitchen. The following is a testimony from Kirk, one of the men who went on the mission:

I want to begin by saying the mission was an amazing experience for me, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to grow in faith and brotherhood. I’d like to talk about one specific fruit from the mission: humility. I always thought of humility as simply turning away praise, or not bragging. It is these things, but on the mission I came to realize it meant much more. Humility isn’t just about not receiving praise, it is about not ever seeking praise to begin. The Sisters of Charity were a perfect example of this. It is about giving without receiving. I recall speaking with one of the patients at the hospice, Paul, and having a difficult time making conversation. I believe part of the reason it was hard to speak with him was because I realized there was nothing in this world he could give me. It was only I who could serve him. Humility is knowing you don’t deserve, or even need, to receive worldly things. And it is about offering yourself up to God and being poor in spirit. Not my will but His be done unto me. I think I came to appreciate that for the first time this weekend, and my prayer life is much better now because of it. With the grace of the Holy Spirit I’ll continue to be strong in prayer through the whole Easter season.

-Kirk