Urban Missionaries

With the season of Pentecost in full swing, the missionaries gathered at All Saints Parish on Sunday to pray at the prominent golden statue of St Joan of Arc at a busy roundabout in NE Portland. St Joan's feast day was May 30th, so we asked for her intercession for everyone who is struggling in this city. We also prayed for the Archbishop's intentions for spiritual renewal in the Portland diocese, uniting our efforts with his. It was a warm day so many of the homeless we met were grateful to receive a few cold drinks, along with homemade pulled pork sandwiches, and Rosaries and prayers. We've found that when we have a dedicated group praying all 15-20 Mysteries of the Rosary, many graces avail themselves to us and those we encounter with the love of Jesus.

The Mysteries of the Rosary are seen even in our own lives, as St Luke recounts a situation he witnessed decades after Pentecost:

"On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in the window, and got sleepier until he finally went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead. But Paul went down and threw himself on him and hugged him. “Don't worry,” he said, “he is still alive!” Then he went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. After talking with them for a long time, even until sunrise, Paul left. They took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted." (Acts 20:7-12)

Catholic mystics note that in this story St Paul gathered for a Saturday Vigil Mass to preach the Gospel, then it says a young disciple "fell asleep" and descended for "three" levels and pronounced dead, but miraculously was resurrected, and this was commemorated on Sunday morning with the Sacrifice of the Mass in the breaking of bread. They say this mirrors the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus, especially as revealed in the Sacred Liturgy.

About 5 months ago in SE Portland we first met Deedee (and her husband Dave) on the streets. What was so shocking about this situation is that this homeless couple was taking care of their little grandkids, Addison and Aiden. The children's mom and dad were addicted to drugs and so the grandparents had to have custody. It's a rough thing to see, especially when such young children see this as "normal" life. Though we had lost contact with Deedee and Dave, as we were walking on the other side of town this past Sunday, we were surprised to see Deedee and the young kids run up to us, and now joinined by their older brother, Austin. Grandma Deedee was so happy to report to us that they finally got permanent housing this past week, so no more drifting between shelters. The children were delighted to receive snack bags and hot dogs, and some Rosaries. We will keep praying for them all, since there is a lot of healing needing to be done for mom and dad, to hopefully one day have their family back together. For now, it's good to see such loving grandparents taking care of such vulnerable children. When we got back to the church parking lot, the clock struck 6pm, the exact time when we've been praying the evening Angelus. The missionaries offered up this and other prayers for all we met that day, but especially for this family.