Chelsea - St. Mary

Country: United States
State or province: Michigan

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Kathleen Day
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We are put on this Earth for a reason

May 19, 2024

There can be no doubt that I was to sit with Louann at Liberty Plaza (in Ann Arbor) last night to listen to her story. Two minutes in to this homeless woman’s story I could tell that this poor woman is nearly paralyzed by anxiety much of the time. The fact that she permitted me to just sit down beside her was one small victory right there!

Her life is one big chaotic mess and her crushing mental illness means that she is stuck in a fate almost worse than death. Just listening to her made me feel so sad and afraid for her. But sitting and listening is all I was asked to do right then and so nothing else really mattered.

What was I going to say? What could I do? I felt so helpless and powerless. Her cross is so heavy!! Was I evangelizing last night? Was I?? I just stayed with it and listened for several more minutes as she gushed out her psychological vomit. Eventually, Louann took a deep breath to calm her nerves and regain some control over her emotions and that was when the Holy Spirit told me to say aloud what she needed to hear. “I don’t want you to feel afraid or alone anymore”. Boy did that hit the mark! It was a bullseye!! Seeing her sit quietly with that remark was refreshing to her soul (and to mine). And then I remembered the St.Michael medal I was wearing. Taking it off I placed it over her head telling her to never take it off; that St. Micheal the Archangel will keep you safe. My SPSE teammate circled back around and together we prayed the St. Micheal prayer for protection over Louann. That was all we could do for this daughter of God but that was all we were asked to do. Nothing more.

Every human being, regardless of race, creed or gender, from the most intelligent and successful to the most unhappy and disturbed has a deep, often unspoken, yearning to be one with their creator - and thus find peace. Louann deserves peace. We all do.

Our first team outing of the year - WOW!!

April 18, 2024

We all remember the incredible joy of holding a newborn for the first time and hearing the priest pronounce us man and wife on our wedding day. Here's another one we can all relate to - the pure joy of praying with a total stranger in need.

At a recent community Expo featuring dozens of vendors that drew a LARGE crowd, a woman told us that because of a deep family wound, she has not heard from her estranged daughter or held her grandchildren in several years. The pain this woman shared called out to us so how could we not offer to pray with her for healing and family reconciliation? All the noise and all the commotion of the crowd of people swirling around us just evaporated as we held hands and prayed openly for the intercession and guidance of the Holy Spirit and after this dear woman blotted tears of thanksgiving from her eyes, she walked away (with a Rosary in her hand) thinking, perhaps, that the Catholics in our community truly are a blessing. This was just one example of how St. Paul Street Evangelization ministry is sharing the gospel with the spiritually hungry of our community. Please keep our SPSE team in your prayers and know that you are in ours!

Learning the importance of listening in evangelizing.

March 6, 2024

Learning to listen may come relatively easy for some when evangelizing but not for me. As if I don’t have enough good things I want to share with others as I go about my day, I also must contend with my own heaping share of psychological “tapes” that haunt me everyday. Horrible “voices”, if you will, that want nothing more than to remind me that ‘listening to a stranger isn’t going to bring her even one step closer to the Lord.’ On top of that, listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit when all hell is breaking loose on cable news and my wife being sick and my dog getting sprayed last night by a damned skunk, you might have trouble listening for the Lord too! “Just breathe Joe, the Lord says to me. Just breathe and pray Joe. Now, just breathe, pray and take another sip of your beer and get ready because here comes the young lady you’re going to evangelize!”
Twenty minutes earlier, Sally brought me the waffle fries and beer I ordered. After spending all morning washing clothes, scrubbing skunk smell from my carpet and giving my dog her third bath in less than 12 hours, I needed to get out of the house and now I’m in a lone booth of a local sports bar taking slow breaths and wondering what Lord am I about to hear and say to my waitress when she arrives with my check?
Sally delivers the check and with TV blaring in the background. I thank her and tell her that I hope she will have a nice day. Turning sideways and patting her belly, Sally gives me a radiant smile and says “thanks, we will”.
So deep in my own world, I hadn’t noticed my waitress was huge with child!! My first thought was, oh how clever! She’s using this little bundle of joy to get a bigger tip out of me. Maybe. Maybe not. But she sure was wanting to tell me about how excited she was to be a first time mother! Yes, Lord, I’m listening!!
She told me about her due date, the babies gender and the parents who are finally going to be first time grandparents. Also the colors of the nursery, the excited siblings on both sides, and baby showers her friends and family are giving her. She was just beaming and soon sitting down across from me, leaning in and still talking! Yes, Lord, I’m listening and I am at your service.
Signing the check (and giving Sally a good tip), I stood up and proudly said that in my Catholic faith, St. Gerard is the patron saint of expectant mothers. She was all ears now. She learned that St. Gerard is a holy and humble man of God. That he is watching over her even now, she has nothing to fear and that she will soon have a happy and healthy little baby boy. Being 20 and connected as they all are to the Internet, I asked that she Google St. Gerard. My parting words were, “he will be happy to listen to anything you have to say.” She was on her smart phone before I was out the door.
The importance of listening cannot be overstated. Without listening I’m not praying. Without listening, I’m not going to heal. Without listening to the voice of God in the Holy Spirit, I’m not going to bring anyone even one step closer to Jesus. Thank you Jesus. I trust in you.

Rend your hearts and not your garments, Joel 2:13

February 25, 2024

I can’t stop thinking about a 12 to 14 year old homeless girl coming up to the SPSE table this past Friday night in Ann Arbor asking for a Rosary. She had never seen one before. Her homeless adult “caregiver” (or parent?) was standing nearby talking and munching on a sandwich provided by our parish Feed the Hungry ministry. The young girl I knew wasn’t interested in having a lengthy discussion about the Rosary, prayer or God, and I wasn’t about to try. “Of course you can, I said with a smile. Here you are and you can have this prayer card too! God loves you!” That young lady, that precious child of God, reminds me so much of my granddaughter who’s about her same age. Two days later, it’s all I can do to not cry in fear and worry for that child! I hope she reads the prayer card I gave her and that reading it often will help her continue to feel safe, loved and cared for. Please pray with me for her.

“Go and spread the Good News”, if taken literally as I believe we are called to do, has some tremendous, unforeseen and sometimes heart rendering consequences, doesn’t it??

Feed the Hungry; Feed the Soul

January 27, 2024

Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 SPSE Blog Post -- Feed the Hungry; Feed the Soul

It was cold, dark, and misty on my first outing as an St. Paul Street Evangelist. I had taken my training to heart earlier in the day and began by gathering what Rosaries and prayer cards I had on hand and then going to my local parish church to pray the Rosary. In the silence of this holy sanctuary, I asked God to send more laborers to his field (emphasis on his field, not mine); to send his angels to protect and keep safe everyone out on the streets this evening (happy, well fed locals and visitors, smiling package laden shoppers and the homeless and hungry alike), and equally important, I prayed that our evangelists will receive and exercise the virtues of prudence, courage, and charity in all that we do and say during the outing.

To be totally honest, this was not my first “rodeo” as a street evangelist. In years past I had volunteered at local, crowded soup kitchens - but always standing behind a steam table. I recall as a college senior many years ago giving a week of my time during the summer helping to build or rehab homes for people living in deplorable conditions - but never actually meeting them. As a busy young father of three, I helped raise money for a local, reputable Christian based homeless ministry - but relied on others to provide the actual assistance. Today, I evangelize to the best of my ability my own family through word and deed and trust in our Lord that all will see and live the beatific vision of heaven. But to be honest, when I hear our deacon at Mass boldly send us forth to “proclaim the Good News”, I know I could do more. And so, I decided to be more intentional with how I would share the gospel message of hope and love.

My parish Feed the Hungry ministry knew I was coming to join them at Liberty Plaza in downtown Ann Arbor. While they were placing food, eating utensils, cups, hand warmers, etc. on folding tables, I set up just a few feet away our parish SPSE street sign draped with Rosaries and Miraculous medals. And immediately jumped right into the world of direct street evangelization. Oh, what a wonderful world it was!! Within minutes I effortlessly gave away most of the Rosaries and engaged people with discussion and vocal prayer of intentions. One woman, Nancy, was so happy to receive a Rosary that she went over to a group of her “family” and came back to me with two others asking for more Rosaries, instructional pamphlets, and prayer cards. Offering to lead them in prayer was easy. All this while my fellow parishioners where evangelizing with hot food and a kind word of love of and encouragement. I will always remember Nancy, this lovely homeless woman, by name in my prayers. Why? Because after we prayed, she gave me a hug and by doing so fed my soul.

Thank you, Bob Wilson and Brian Lee, of SPSE for helping to form me in the SPSE apostolate. Thank you, Kathie D., Nancy H., Paul P. for praying for me and helping to grow and form our parish SPSE team and thank you, Rita, Meg, Nancy H., Valerie, and Rob (to name a few) for providing me a means to help feed a soul as you work to feed the hungry. I love you and may God bless each of you!

Joe Hardesty, SPSE team leader, Chelsea, MI.

PS – I’m sorry to have forgotten to get photos of last night’s outing but I hope my description will do.