From Service to Seeking

Near the end of our exciting last full day in Jamaica – which involved a morning spent with the residents, a trip to Kingston, and a short interview on Mustard Seed’s Kingston neighborhood radio station – the fact that our trip was coming to an end was inevitably dawning upon us. Coming back from Kingston to Jacob’s ladder, we sat down together for our “last supper” before leaving Jamaica. Led by Fr. Ivany, head of spiritual formation at our seminary, we shared some of the graces from over the course of the trip.

The residents were first and foremost in our minds; for me one resident in particular came to mind: Rohan. Rohan and I spent a lot of time kicking the soccer ball around with others. He would continually ask me if I wanted to play “juggle circle” with him and others, trying to keep the ball in the air as long as possible. As we walked to his community, he continually said to me “Come to Corinth, Kyle.” It was quite touching, and slightly humorous as well. It reminded me of how the Lord gently reminds us to come and follow Him continuously.

We could also not help but be reminded of our powerful meeting with the saintly Msgr. Gregory, founder of Mustard Seed Communities. A man of short stature who packed both a humorous and a holy punch. He had given us many inspiring holy words of advice and encouragement, often ended by amusingly adding “Put that in your pipe and smoke it!” He reminded us to seek out and serve those of our own community in the same manner we had served those at Mustard seed.

And so, remembering his encouragement, we said our final heartfelt goodbyes to the residents Friday night after our “last supper.” Saturday morning, we made the trip back to our seminary in D.C., with much to ponder in our hearts from the past week, reminded by Msgr. Gregory to seek out and to serve those in our own community with equal zeal.