The PBJ – Nine Years Later – A View from Chicago

(Tim Sullivan)

 

It’s hard to believe that the PBJ is coming up on its 9^th Birthday.  I would never have guessed nine years ago on that first Saturday of October of 2002 the PBJ would evolve to what it is today.  From a handful of volunteers that first Saturday to now with a core of dedicated, caring individuals and dedicated volunteers (40, 50 or 60 each week) who show up to care for the “friends” downtown.  I truly miss all of the volunteers and the people downtown who I’ve gotten to know as friends over the last nine years.  Like the old saying, you really don’t know what you’ve got until it’s not there.  By moving to Chicago I’ve gotten a different perspective on the work that the PBJ does each week, week in and week out, 52 weeks a year.  While I was actively involved (I still remain on the Board of Directors) I knew that the work we were all doing was important and Christ-inspired.  Each week to see people actively living the Gospel, actively doing what Christ calls each of us to do is an incredible experience.  What I don’t think I realized though was how absolutely necessary that work is.  The importance goes without saying.  But each week, to see 250 or so people being cared for in a compassionate, loving way it really never struck me how terribly necessary the work that the PBJ does is.

Chicago, like any other big city has a homeless problem.  All you have to do is walk down the street and it’s obvious.  You see people obviously homeless or completely marginalized just like in the Detroit area.  But there is a big difference.  If you look on the scale of who’s better off (and I hate to use that term because none of them are better off) the scales definitely tip toward Chicago.  The number of shelters and programs geared toward the homeless are absolutely incredible.  Catholic Charities (sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago) runs 5 soup kitchen where dinner is served.  I’ve worked at one downtown which feeds approximately 150 people each meal (donated by local establishments and grocery stores).  Just the programs run by the Archdiocese of Chicago through Catholic Charities are numerous and widespread.  (See: http://www.catholiccharities.net/get_involved/.)  Outreach is provided by various parishes and in addition to this in well over 100 soup kitchens throughout the city (both governmental and private) providing food and emergency services to the homeless and marginalized.

By serving those on the bottom rung of Detroit’s society the PBJ fulfills not only an import but an extremely necessary service.  There is no one worse off than the people that the PBJ serves.  The homeless from other areas of downtown Detroit look down on the people who are cared for by the volunteers from the PBJ.  The most important thing is not the food, not the clothing but the care and love that is provided week after week.  Without the PBJ these “friends” would be unloved and uncared for.  Food and clothing are needed for the body, but care, concern, conversation and respect are non-quantitative things which no one can do without and which the PBJ offers in abundance.

I would just ask you to consider (if you haven’t already done so) to join the other volunteers some Saturday.  I can promise you that you will receive much more than you can ever give.  Blessings to all,

Mother Teresa

"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives--the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them." Mother Teresa

Deitrich Bohnoeffer (On Church)

The church is the church only when it exists for others. To make a start, it should give away all its property to those in need. The clergy must live solely on the free-will offerings of their congregations, or possibly engage in some secular calling. The church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live in Christ, to exist for others.

PBJ OUTREACH UPDATE

For several reasons, financial and personal, the PBJ expansion has been put on an indefinite hold.

DEACON TIM'S COLUMN 6-20-10 (FATHERS' DAY)

In the Gospel today (according to Luke) Jesus tells us “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” When I was teaching at Loyola on Fenkel in Detroit I would periodically take a different route and cut across Fenkel. When I did this I used to pass a store front church which had a sign in the window “The Gospel Made Easy”. I always thought about stopping in and asking “how?” The Gospel isn’t easy. Following it can become easier the more we practice (just like virtue) but it never is easy.

Each of us is continually challenged by the Gospel, challenged to follow Christ. I can only imagine having a conversation with Christ and asking him “was it easy?” I’ve got a pretty good feeling I know what the answer would be. Jesus laid out the two most important commandments, to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In his public ministry he further defined these two when he gave us the Beatitudes (eight in Matthew and four in Luke) and the parables about forgiveness and love of neighbor (The Prodigal Son, The Woman Caught in Adultery, The Good Samaritan and so on).

Throughout Church history, the pages are filled with people (women, men and children) who did take up their cross and were concerned more with the life to come than the life in the here and now. These martyrs (both red and white) took up their crosses and often bore incredible hardships and suffering in following Christ.

In the second reading today from the Letter to the Galatians, Paul tells us that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free person,, there is not male and female….” We are all one in Christ through our baptism. In this baptism we also become responsible for all of our sisters and brothers (in varying ways). At the very least we are called to pray for our sisters and brothers and not put any impediments in their way regarding their eternal salvation and their temporal welfare (to the best of our ability).

Blessings to all, especially to all fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, foster fathers and all men who act as father figures.

Deacon Tim 734-502-1818 deacontim@tds.net http://shamrockdeacon.blogspot.com

www.pbjoutreach.org

IMMIGRATION -- A BIASED VIEW

     With all the talk about illegal immigration, Arizona's new state law giving the police the right to, upon a stop for another crime/incident, check the citizenship status of the individual they stopped, some rumblings in Michigan about adopting something similar, and all the pros and cons regarding these topics I feel compelled to just add a few of my own comments toward this situation.

     First, I have to admit that I'm not an entirely unbiased commentator.  Early in the 20th Century my great aunt (God rest her soul) came into the United States illegally.  She came through Canada with the assistance of an Irish priest in Detroit who at that time was helping Irish immigrants who were fleeing Ireland to enter the United States.  Over the course of her life, I believe that she did ultimately become a naturalized citizen.  She also raised a family alone, after he husband deserted her and her three sons (my second cousins).

     My aunt didn't come to this country on a lark.  She was fleeing Ireland because of the repression of the English occupation force in Ireland at the time and because of her involvement with the Irish pro-independence movement operating in and around Cork.  From 1916 until 1922 an extremely bitter war was fought by Ireland in order to obtain freedom from English rule.  (As a side note, if you're interested, there is a very excellent independent movie which had limited release in 2006 - now on DVD - "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" -- set in County Cork from 1920-1922.)

     Her brother, my great uncle had been captured, imprisoned and tortured for his involvement in the Irish independence movement.  He later emigrated to the United States (Detroit).  This imprisonment and torture left extremely deep psychological scars on him until the day he died.

Homily - 5-2-10 8 a.m. & 10 a.m. - Our Lady of Good Counsel

HOMILY 5-2-10
8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Our Lady of Good Counsel
Deacon Tim Sullivan

In today’s Gospel (Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35) Jesus tells his disciples that he is giving them a new commandment to love one another as he has loved them. If you search all of the versions of the Gospel, no where will you find that Jesus ever made a suggestion. He gave commands. He didn’t say, love one another as long as you get along with them or if you like them. He was very definite…love one another as he loved them (and as he loves us). On this, Jesus didn’t give us any “wiggle room”. This scene in the Gospel takes place after the Last Supper and after Jesus has washed the feet of the Apostles. We should remember that Jesus washed the feet of Judas also at the Last Supper. Keeping this in mind, when he told us to love one another he didn’t say that we had to like everyone. I imagine Jesus didn’t really like Judas that much knowing that he was going to betray him and turn him over to be tortured and killed by crucifixion. I imagine that Jesus didn’t like Peter’s actions of denying him three times. I also have a feeling that he didn’t like Pilate that much, remembering that Pilate is the one who condemned him to be scourged and crucified. He might not have liked these people but he loved them. He calls us to do no less.
This love was a totally selfless; ask nothing in return type of love. This love that Jesus had for us (including Judas and Peter and Pilate) is the same love that he commanded that we each have for each other.
This love isn’t that warm fuzzy feeling you get from someone. Rather it’s the visible act that shows our relationship with each other as sons and daughters of God. It’s the abandonment of self and the realization that each and every one e of us is special in God’s eyes and therefore should be special in our eyes. We are all family, we are all brothers and sisters. This love that we are called to have is manifested by wishing the absolute best for someone, and the best thing that we can hope for is that they gain eternal salvation and their eventual place in heaven. The way we can do this, especially if we don’t know the person or if we’re having problems with the person is to pray for them.
This “praying for them” isn’t always an easy task. Watching the reviews for the movie out
about Jack Kavorkian I was reminded that when he was at his height of activity, I knew I should
pray for him…so I did. I would pray, Father, I’d like to pray for Jack Kavorkian (and then add) but
you know I don’t mean it. I prayed like that for several years. Then one day while I was praying, I
remember saying “and I want to pray for Jack Kavorkian” and I actually meant it. A harder
situation arose when my youngest daughter was about five years old. Someone tried to abduct her from in front of our house. I was reminded how hard this is when I was talking to a person several years ago. They said that someone had done something very bad against someone in their family and that they couldn’t forgive them. I told them that it might be helpful to pray for them. Their response was “oh I do pray for them, I pray that they die the most horrible, painful, lingering death possible. This person was probably one of the scariest people I have ever met…they had no peace. In effect, they were spiritually and emotionally dead.
One of the biggest aspects of love is forgiveness. There are times when we just have to forgive. The last part of the story about my daughter is that she wasn’t abducted but having the description of the car and of the individual I looked for them for three days. It was only by the grace of God that I didn’t find them. It’s taken me over 21 years to bring myself to pray for that person…and it’s still hard.
After the 8:00 a.m. Mass, something happened as we were processing out. Fr. John looked at me and said “I think God just called your bluff.” To truly be called Christians, followers of Christ we have to love and have to be able to forgive, no matter who the person is, no matter what they’ve done and no matter how much they have impacted us.