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Volunteering & Discernment ::Reflection taken from "The Whispering Wind", of Sat. July 2, 2005, the Blogger of Pascal. Xaverian Pascal is in the Bronx in NYC, at a 6-week summer camp of the Missionaries of Charity, together with Wawan and François. Though the article is directed to his blog readers, the questions might raise our personal response.
ello everyone. I am away from Chicago. I am in NY, in the Bronx, helping out at a children summer camp. This summer camp is organized by the sisters Missionaries of Charity of mother Teresa of Calcutta, for children of ages 5 thru 14 from the large Latino neighborhood surrounding Saint Rita's Catholic church. It lasts until August 11th. The sisters have called on many volunteers from the US, France and Spain. Most of us are young adults in our twenties, though the majority is of college age. Though the activities start next Tuesday, last Friday’s opening retreat set the tone and the agenda of this ministry: “being an instrument of God's love” according to Corinthians 13. This is really a great opportunity, a moment of grace. More than a time for fun and relaxation, it is an occasion for evangelization since some of these kids are not Christians and live in an area where human and Christian values are not observed. They are constantly at risk of falling into drugs, violence, etc. Also, the summer camp is an opportunity for pastoral care for the kids who come from broken or inexistent families. Thus, as volunteers, we will have to give account of our being catholic and lead them to discover human and Christian values that they can live by. This will be done through catechesis, carpentry, and daily example.
Human beings need two things: something to believe in and something to belong to. To be successful, a parish [or a community, a marriage, a friendship, a team, a nation, any human organization] must be a place where both needs are met.
Timothy E. O’Connell
"Making Disciples"
Also, this summer camp is a way for the volunteers to live up their Christian missionary vocation. Many of us are living the experience of Abraham. Leaving everything behind, we are proclaiming God's promise realized in Jesus: the land of the living is ours if we become disciples and apprentices of Jesus. Abraham was in search of a land and an offspring, symbolizing shalom and eternity that he eventually found in God alone. Likewise, many of the volunteers, as young adults, are searching for their destiny, their orientation, the sense and the meaning of their lives. Many of them are here to discern God's voice: “God, what do you see in me?… Who am I?… What are the deepest desires of my heart?” And only God can help find an answer to such questions.
As you can see, volunteerism is a way of doing a personal discernment, and of being valuable to society and to the church. A Christian volunteer participates in the evangelizing mission of the church. What about you? What do you plan to do this summer for the church, society, and family...? What do you thirst for? What are the desires of your heart? Maybe it is time to stop being blown by the surrounding culture and its individualistic calls, and turn toward higher values. The world needs new Abraham, new visionaries driven by the deepest and most sacred and pure desires of the heart and following God's promise of eternal shalom.
Reflection from "The Whispering Wind", Sat. July 2, 2005
Excursions with people with disabilities, including a picnic 
