Farewell--the Shire awaits me.

It was exciting, unusual, and challenging, and it has finally come to its end.  I’ve gained so much valuable experience this summer serving in the pro-life field that I know will benefit me no matter what the Lord calls me to do hereafter.  It feels good to spend time in the service of others even—perhaps especially—when it gets hard and unpleasant.  The work itself was challenging and—as is usually the case when strangers come together to share in a common labor—so was the common life at times, but working through these things together is rewarding and if done right can only help the cause.

One of the best parts of my summer was meeting SO many remarkable, devoted, self-sacrificing individuals from all across the country.  If anyone from my travels is reading this blog, a big hello from Ohio to my friends in New York, Washington, D.C., Vienna, VA, Charlotte, NC, Detroit, MI, Philadelphia, PA, and last but far from least, across the Atlantic to Spain!  Thank-you all so much for your hard work, your perseverance, your generosity, your self-sacrifice, and your general kindness.  You’ve all been an inspiration to me in different ways and I’m truly grateful for the opportunity I’ve had to work, play, suffer, rejoice, visit, and pray with you! 

If you want to experience the frontlines of the battle for life in the service of God and neighbor over a summer like nothing you’ve ever experienced nor one you will ever forget, than this is the internship for you. 

Keep up the good fight everyone!!!

“Woe to me if I should prove myself but a half-hearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.”  --St. Fidelis

St. Macrina the Younger, pray for us.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of life and Patroness of the Americas, pray for us.

The Witness of Joy

 

A little more about OSA.  The talks we heard were uplifting and inspiring and their sincerity testified to the Lord’s presence in their midst and His work through them.  We heard amazing stories of the mighty acts of God as these people worked to evangelize those contemplating abortion.  The thing that stood out the most to me about these people though was not their approach or their words or their stories but their joy.  Joy is ever a sign that God is welcome among us (and yes, unfortunately there are people who will allow God to come into their midst but will not welcome Him).  Joy is different from Happiness, since it remains even when the latter has disappeared.  It comes from the knowledge that even when things go wrong—sometimes very wrong—God is with us.

We also must remember the witness of joy.  We must cultivate true joy in our own midst so that the women we minister will see it and be drawn to it.  It is a powerful witness to truth and goodness.

St. Phillip Neri, pray for us!

Anger and Anguish

 

    We’ve all ran into it: that worker or passerby who just won’t let up.  Curses and cusses run liberally and you’re left feeling like you need to take a shower to wash off the filthy language that’s just been flung at you. 

    What is often our first reaction is almost always wrong: “Oh yeah?  Well same to you!”  Not in those words, perhaps, but I’m sure we’ve all in situations like what I’ve described felt the urge to offer a little spleen back at them. 

    We can’t give into that temptation.  I quite believe that it is those people who are in need of the most love and tenderness—possibly even more than the women entering the clinic.  These are the people who I believe have already been involved with abortion.  Either a sin they themselves committed or one they led a loved one into or one another committed that took the life of their child without their consent—whatever the circumstances, somewhere along the way of their life they have been deeply wounded by the abortion industry and are suffering. 

    Our reaction to their hostility should be of gentle love—however unnatural that will feel at the time.  Resist the urge to argue, however right you are and however witty that response you just thought up.  I’ve fallen into this trap too many times.  It doesn’t help—that’s not the kind of help they need.  The deed has already been done and deep down they already know its wrong (that’s why they are suffering), so arguments will be of little value.  They are in need of compassion, so that’s what we must give them if we can.

    May the Lord in His agony have mercy on us and on those poor suffering souls.

Scientia Potentia Est.

                                         

     Sir Francis Bacon once wrote, “Knowledge itself is power.”  Keep that in mind as I continue. 

    What’s one thing all these abortion clinics have in common?  An apparent abhorrence of knowledge—or rather, knowledge in the hands of a client.  One of the biggest things that sidewalk counselors do at abortion clinics is provide information to enhance a potential client’s knowledge.  We tell them about their options, about the risks they take when getting an abortion, about the practice history of the abortionist who will see them, about the development of the fetus they carry within them, and about the many people who truly care about them and are ready to help.

    Nobody would argue with the fact that greater knowledge makes for a freer choice.  I mean, if I’m about to enter a building with five entrances but I only know about one, how in the world can I possibly make a free choice about which of the five doors to enter? 

    Abortion clinics are pro-choice...right?  (see my previous post on hypocrisy...)

    At a Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C. I was attempting to sidewalk counsel when one of the guards began to yell “YOU DON”T HAVE TO LISTEN YOU DON”T HAVE TO LISTEN YOU DON”T HAVE TO LISTEN” over and over again.  You’d think any sane passerby would be thinking, “What the heck is she doing?” and if they did, I hope it would give them pause when they realized she was shouting over a fellow American doing nothing more than providing knowledge to an ignorant woman about to make a life-changing decision based on her ignorance.

    At a clinic in Detroit, there is a big sign on the door reading, “No literature beyond this point.”  On the porch sits a trash can.  Guards are literally instructed to take the literature out of the hands of the women entering or risk getting into trouble themselves.  After pointing out these facts to some of the people there, I returned to my post only to see a guard who had followed a woman into the clinic return holding the flyer she had taken.  He looked in my direction and very deliberately let it flutter down into the trash can.  Pro-choice indeed.

    All this makes you wonder: What are they afraid of?

    So back to that quote at the beginning.  If knowledge is power, then is all this effort to keep knowledge out of the hands of ignorant a way to keep them weak and helpless?  A way to maintain their own power over the underpriveleged, poor, and uneducated?  Um, yes.

    I think all abortion clinics should have a sign on them that reads in big bold letters something like this:

    Planned Parenthood: Empowerment. Choices.  Hypocrisy.  Guaranteed.

Today I Met a Miracle

St. Mary Magdalene at the foot of the Cross

 

 

    I met someone very special while sidewalk counseling at the Summit abortion clinic this morning.  Today I met a miracle and I will call her Magdalena. 

    At first I thought she had come for an abortion and I tried to give her a pamphlet but that is not why she was there that day.  Very quickly I realized that she had come for the same reason that I had come—to try to bring the love of the Lord to women who are feeling far from lovable and far from loved.  I was introduced to her by a fellow counselor and her brief story was told: she herself has suffered the pain of past abortions and you could see in her eyes and hear in her voice that she had not forgotten that pain. 

    I wanted to throw my arms around her right there I was so happy to see her.  She told me that the Lord had saved her.  I told her how glad I was that she was there—that the Lord would use her to save others as I have no doubt He will. 

    To all women who are post-abortive: you have experienced—perhaps knowingly committed—a great evil but even BEFORE you were sorry for it you were loved!  And once your sorrow became real, you opened yourself up for the Lord to work His marvels through you. 

    Post-abortive women bring something very special to the sidewalk counseling battleground: a living testament to the healing power of God.  Brokenness made whole; emptiness filled; self-hatred to overflowing love. 

    Magdalena’s efforts to love others—which began promptly after she had rested from giving birth to another little miracle, as I understand—are the beginning of a chain reaction. 

    I am reminded of the words of St. Catherine of Siena: “If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!”

St. Mary Magdalene: Pray for us.

Loving Life and the Mercy of God

    Unfortunately a happy story ended in bittersweetness.  The newly saved baby of the mother I’ve been calling Mary was taken home to be with God. 

    Being pro-life means loving everyone around you as the Lord loves them.  Not surprising, working in this ministry increases your awareness and love for the innocent unborn but another huge blessing is the grace of learning to love people of all ages—loving human life wherever you encounter it.  We spent a lovely afternoon at the art fair just trying to make Mary and Zacharias’ day a little brighter and helping them to understand what we ourselves are learning: that all life is a gift from God. 

    But as we joyfully accept the gifts of God we must also accept the trials he allows to follow behind them.  We received a call informing us that Mary was in the hospital and later that she had miscarried.  Obviously the big question on everyone’s mind was, “Why?  She made the right choice—she was going to keep her baby.  Why would the Lord take him away from her only a day later?” 

    Ultimately the answer is, “Because Adam and Eve sinned,” as we know—but God brings blessings through everything.  We were able to form a relationship with these young parents (and in so doing get a little bit closer ourselves to understanding the love of God).  More importantly, we were able to help them form a relationship with their unborn child.  They saw the baby with their own eyes—they know now without doubt that the unborn are human persons who must be protected. 

    In the Lord’s timing and in His GREAT mercy, He gave them time to change their hearts before the baby’s time on earth was over. 

    In times like this we must say with Job: “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away—blessed be the name of the Lord.”  (Job 1:21)

Mary and Zacharias with us at the art fair

 

Mary getting a massage while she and Zacharias have a chat with a pro-life therapist (gotta have connections!)

 

What We're Up Against

A woman came in to the office today who was only a little bit older than I am.  I’ll call her Gianna.  Gianna has had (and continues to have) health problems (plural) and she had been told she would never be able to bear children.  Well, it sounds like she is in the doctor’s office one day for something unrelated and the doctor tells her rather off-handedly, “Oh, by the way—did you know that you’re pregnant?”  Of course the answer was a shocked no.  As if this wasn’t enough, she ends up getting an ultrasound and the doctor tells her there is no heartbeat—she has miscarried.  They (yes, “they” as there were several doctors in the room) began pressuring her to get the abortion procedure done immediately to protect her own health.  She said some said to do it, others said no—I can only imagine what it was like to be in the middle of that.  Very wisely Gianna insisted they sign her for release and she left to think about it.  Well, she comes back a couple of days later due to some symptoms of complications.  Upon a second ultrasound she is told she IS carrying a live baby and is almost 7 weeks pregnant!  Now think about this for a second.  One of two things happened that first time: 1) the ultrasound technician was a complete idiot (sorry) and had no business working there; 2) they lied to her and endangered her baby’s life intentionally.  This was at a HOSPITAL people.  This is what we’re up against: a culture so indifferent to the dignity of human life that it is dealt with as flippantly as a flu symptom.  Just goes to show the problem is much deeper than the abortion clinics—it’s going to take a change in our truly pitiable culture to shut them down for good.

Helping With a Miracle!

We were in the office in Detroit and had just had one of the sad visits where the young mother will not be moved by anything we can offer her—love, help, information, etc.—to keep her baby when two more women arrived.  They were a mother I’ll call Anne and her pregnant daughter I’ll call Mary and as is most common, they arrived at our office believing it was an abortion clinic.  Both struck me immediately as kind loving women and I knew right away that they didn’t want to do this terrible thing.  We began the appointment as always with love—just giving them whatever kind friendly words we could to make them feel at ease and understand that we were there to help.  We showed them a movie depicting abortion procedures and describing their risks, explained fetal development and presented them with a model comparable to Mary’s current week of gestation, and gave her a pregnancy test.  Two members from another pro-life organization were present in the office building and one—who has years of experience counseling women contemplating abortion—did the main counseling session. It was such a blessing to see the change!  As is not uncommon, Anne and Mary were feeling pressured by their circumstances to rid themselves forever of their child/grandchild.  With the offers of help—real, practical, substantial, immediate help—they were incredulous and Anne was upset to realize that we would not be providing the expected abortion.  Then slowly you could see the doubt slipping away and a hesitant but hopeful trust emerging that maybe—just maybe—there really were people in the world who truly cared and could truly help.

One of our interns accompanied them as Mary was taken to her ultrasound appointment.  I was needed to remain behind for other office appointments, but I heard that the ultrasound could not have been better: a healthy little 12 week baby jumping up and down and sucking his/her little thumb for all to see!  I was blessed to see some of the images the next day and they were beautiful (the baby looked right at the ”camera” in one of them! Almost like he knew he was the center of attention and was lovin’ it).  Well everything seemed complete: Anne had a new refrigerator, Mary was already hearing of assistance that would be given to her to complete her goal of becoming a nurse, smiles were all around, yet the next day we received a blow: a call suggesting the baby (and mother) might be in danger. 

No time to waste. Our friends from the neighboring pro-life organization asked us to pick up Mary and her boyfriend I’ll call Zacharias.  We took them to an art fair to relax and over the course of the afternoon had plenty of opportunities to reassure them of the help available and encourage the “connection” to be made between this abstract concept of abortion vs pregnancy and the real, living, present baby of their OWN they carried around the art fair with them.

Today we heard the good news: Mary has decided to love her baby and after profuse words of sincere gratitude, Anne has already provided the number of another mother she knows who is in need.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Life, pray for us who have recourse to thee.

"If Only I Had Known."

The hypocrisy of the abortion industry is surprising sometimes even when I know to expect it.  I was praying and sidewalk counseling outside of a Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C. where an elderly man and woman were standing outside of the building in their orange vests supposedly “protecting” the clients arriving.  Has anyone even stopped to think about this?  I mean, if I was seriously worried about the safety of my customers, would I really be sending elderly men and women to “guard” them?  Seriously?  Where are the strapping young men? Oh that’s right—all the young people proactive enough to do anything are on our side! 

It would be comical, except for the added and much graver hypocrisy: protect the women from what? From information regarding the risks of abortion?  From knowledge of the reality of her baby’s development? From loving people who will provide her with free resources to help her keep her baby if she wants?  From anything that might cause her to avoid the death of a precious child and the pain and regret (physical and emotional) of lost motherhood?  Is this what they call protection?

The Way of Pain

Oftentimes sidewalk counselors arrive early to abortion clinics (before they open) so that they can be sure to be there for the very first arrivals.  The workers arrive first, and standing there it doesn’t take long to notice that there is something similar about all of them.  One by one you see young women in cute-patterned, brightly colored smocks drive up in their sporty cars and head to work.  Maybe its the liveliness of their outfits that makes it stand out, but in contrast, their faces look sad and tired.  They won’t look you in the eye—they won’t smile (at anyone, let alone you).  I still remember one day last year (not on this internship) praying outside a clinic in Dallas: two of these women were walking in that morning for work and I could tell right away that one of them was new.  No, it wasn’t because I didn’t recognize her (although that was true as well), it was because there was a spring in her step, a light in her eyes, and a smile on her face.  When we said good morning, she smiled and returned the greeting.  There was an innocence about her that made me think she perhaps had no clear idea about what she was getting into.  The seasoned “nurse” beside her?  Nothing.  She carried the same shadow as all the rest.  The spectacle was dreadfully sad as I knew this young woman’s demeanor was soon to change.  They would ask her to do terrible things or lose her job.  She would do them and quickly that smile would disappear and those bright eyes be dimmed and that light step become heavy with the awful burdens she would begin to carry.  And these were only the workers.  So many mothers walk through the doors every day seeking relief from the burdens of life.  Only the opposite is all anyone will ever find there: more pain, more grief, more suffering, and burdens so heavy they will feel crushed by them.  It’s no secret, though ignorance is ever our enemy: anyone standing by can see the pitiful change in those who walk into and out of those dark heavy doors.  Never grow weary of fighting the tragedy of abortion.

Soldiers in the Army of God

Spiritual warfare.  First and foremost, that’s what we’re here for, and war is never a joke and never to be taken lightly.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but it’s easy for me to get comfortable because I’m not seeing the bloodshed and because most of the time it’s easy for me to forget the presence of the true Enemy, but this makes the war no less real and all the more dangerous.  In my humble opinion—through personal experience and accounts of personal experience—there are two things necessary and one thing extremely helpful if you want to—or feel you should—do this type of work: 1) You MUST remain close to God.  We are instruments of God’s work no matter what area we serve and if we allow ourselves to rust or gather cobwebs, we put obstacles in the way of His grace.  Soldiers must stay fit, and we are no exception.  Actively pursue virtues and conquer vices (even when they don’t seem to have anything to do with pro-life work—they do).  Go to confession frequently.  Pray even more than you would on a normal day at home.  Go to mass as often as possible.  The more fresh and healthy our soul is the more easily will God’s grace flow through us to the women we serve. Never leave home for battle without your sword, the rosary of our Lady.  No matter how incompetent you may feel at times (I know I do...), even if all you do is stand outside an abortion clinic and pray fervently you are already doing the best thing you can do for these women. 

2) Can you walk into a room with a total stranger and truly, sincerely, earnestly love her? care about her? want the best for her?  Of course, this follows from #1, for the more we allow God to fill us with His love the more easily will this come to us.  Love is something these women are not receiving for the most part and even if our love comes beside stumbling words, if it’s sincere it will show.

3) Not necessary, but extremely helpful: Skill.  Watch people who have been doing this for years.  Pay attention when you’re shadowing.  Research your own information.  Commit pertinent knowledge to memory. Rehearse different counseling scenarios alone or with a friend.

Take these suggestions for what they’re worth.  It has been helpful to me to remind myself of them often and to try my best to follow them.

Faithful Before Successful

          "The men of the East may spell the stars,

          And times and triumphs mark,

          But the men signed of the cross of Christ

          Go gaily in the dark....

         "The wise men know all evil things

          Under the twisted trees,

          Where the perverse in pleasure pine

          And men are weary of green wine

          And sick of crimson seas.

 

          "But you and all the kind of Christ

          Are ignorant and brave,

          And you have wars you hardly win

          And souls you hardly save.

 

          "I tell you naught for your comfort,

          Yea, naught for your desire,

          Save that the sky grows darker yet

          And the sea rises higher.

 

          "Night shall be thrice night over you,

          And heaven an iron cope.

          Do you have joy without a cause,

          Yea, faith without a hope?"

 

As we fight these great battles before us, I find these words of Chesterton (The Ballad of the White Horse) to be inspiring, for we are children of God before we are warriors, and we must remain so if we wish to effectively strive for victory.  But what is victory?  As Bl. Mother Theresa wisely said, “We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful.”  This is what it means to fight in the army of God.  We are fed at the Table of the Lord then are sent forth to press on where the world—and sometimes our visible results—tell us there is no point, no hope, no cause, no victory.  Cling to God in His saints, His sacraments, His Mother, His Church and your “joy without a cause” and “faith without a hope” will shine brightly to these women who are suffering in darkness and show them that there is a better way.

“We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight.”

One thing that has struck me in my few years of active work in the pro-life field is how different it is from other areas of missionary work.  If for example I was serving people who were starving in a third-world country by bringing them nourishment, I would be blessed to see their smiles, hear their thank-yous, even see them growing stronger and healthier.  In short, I would likely be blessed to see the fruits of my labor.  But when you work against an evil that dwells in the shadows, often you can hardly see your hand in front of your face, let alone the fruits of your labor.  Every so often one such enormous blessing will occur: a mother will inform you that she has changed her mind, or perhaps return to you with a saved child in her arms to thank you, but for the most part, you as the pro-life counselor/sidewalk-counselor/prayer-warrior will never know what an impact your prayers and words had.  But the evil is no less real because it is hidden nor can the positive effects of prayer and charity be exaggerated.  It is the challenge of the battle for human dignity that we struggle on with as much vitality, persistence, courage, strength and love in the shadows as we would in the light; that we speak to every woman as though our words and no others are the ones that will convince her of God’s love and the preciousness of the life she carries within her; that we not let the appearance of failure or at least of futility sap even the smallest part of ardency from our veins (that we never forget that millions of lives depend upon this); that we walk by faith and not by sight in the fight for life. 

I am reminded of the words of our Lady spoken in a vision to King Alfred in G.K. Chesterton's "Ballad of the White Horse" (no, its not real; yes, you should read it): "The men signed of the Cross of Christ go gaily in the dark."

The Ultimate Anti-Feminism? Part 2

Clearly the physical world cries out the evil of abortion—no scientist could reasonably argue otherwise—but is this the biggest danger a woman faces in the abortion procedure?  What sets man apart from animals is the fact that we are body and soul, not separate and disconnected, but deeply and inseparably linked.  We are men and women to our souls and not just to our bodies.  Just as the Lord designed the woman’s body to care for life, so too He designed her heart.  Just as physical trauma results from a turning against nature, so too an emotional and psychological trauma—more serious and more deadly—afflicts women who undergo abortions.  As women, our hearts are designed to love and care for people in need, particularly when they are vulnerable.  When a woman rejects an innocent and unprotected life entrusted to her, is it any wonder that the suffering does not end with the healing of physical wounds?  Is it surprising that there are now facilities across the nation which do nothing but serve women suffering from these deeper wounds of abortion (and these, only those who have actually made their afflictions known)?  Can we find it shocking that a woman's risk of attempting suicide is 6x greater after having an abortion?  Can we call it a coincidence and be in our right minds?  Knowing what we do of the feminine heart simply by observing it in action (again, theology aside) in our mothers, wives, sisters and friends, is it really with her best interests in mind that we ask, encourage, pressure, or force her to reject her nature in an abortion?  How can a fight for such a thing ever be a fight for the good of women?  A rejection of motherhood (what I believe I may call the ultimate act of nurturing) is a rejection of womanhood.  So abortion is not only—of course—an attack against humanity, but it is also most particularly and specifically an attack against femininity.  Can you think of anything more anti-woman than that?

 

The Ultimate Anti-Feminism? (Part 1)

Perhaps I exaggerate, perhaps not. As a biology student, I am privileged to be given on a silver platter an extensive knowledge of the physical world.  When studying human biology, I am always particularly interested and constantly amazed by how our physical bodies help to define our nature and reflect our Creator.  What’s the biggest thing you realize when studying the female body?  She is intricately and perfectly designed right down to the molecular level to care for new life.  Even minute details that seem unconnected assist her in this end.  In the midst of the culture of death, every woman cannot help but attest by her very nature to the sanctity of human life, for even if she turn her mind against it, her body remains dedicated to it in spite of herself.  Theology aside, science cries out loud and clear that life is precious.  Is it any wonder then, that there are grave physical risks to a mother who chooses to abort her child?  Is there any surgical procedure so completely contrary to her body’s design?  Does anything offend her physical womanhood quite as much as a direct attack on her motherhood?  In spite of many scientists, science itself reveals the evil of abortion as a grand attack on the biology of a woman.

Does Anybody See What I See?

Racism is still alive and well in our nation.  If you find my claim even a little dubious, do some research on the roots of Planned Parenthood (search something like “racism Margaret Sanger Planned Parenthood”—seriously, do it right now before you forget) then go sit across the street from your local abortion clinic and just watch.  You’ll quickly get all the proof you need.  Because of the where the clinic in DC is situated, I have very little time as a sidewalk counselor to speak to a woman (or man) once I have identified the person as a client at the abortion clinic.  On my first day (in DC, that is), I started trying to figure out how I could tell the difference between a regular pedestrian and a woman contemplating an abortion.  There were the usual signs: the right age, walking in pairs, wearing baggy pants, looking scared, etc., but you want to know the number one way I could use to identify these women?  Their race.  If the woman was black, I estimate an 80% chance she was headed for the clinic.  That means if I started walking up to every black woman of childbearing age in the vicinity of the abortion clinic, I’d only get a regular pedestrian 2 times out of 10.  Uncomfortable?  Downright scary?  It gets worse.  It suddenly occurred to me: every abortionist I’ve ever known is white.  All the “guards” at this clinic are white as well.  Does anybody see what I see?  Here’s Margaret Sanger—the foundress of this monstrosity—on the subject as she encourages in a letter, “a drastic curtailment of the birth rate at the source of the unfit, the diseased and the incompetent...The birth control clinics all over the country are doing their utmost to reach the lower strata [the minorities] of our population...” and at a different time: “We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.”  Racism is a disgusting crime that has gone on for far too long: it’s high time the word DOES go out.

The Kingdom of Heaven Belongs to Such as These

A Woman came in who had had 14 abortions and was contemplating a 15^th (I know. So if you can’t think of who to pray for...).  She had brought her 4 year old son.  She didn’t seem familiar with the fetal models, so of course I pulled them out.  They sat on the table during the rest of the counseling session and at one point the little boy got interested and began playing with them (granted, he—being a boy—was trying to see how many times he could twist the flexible rubber model around itself, but anyways...)—not the big ones, mind you, but the first trimester, 6-10-week models.  In the midst of our conversation, I see him pointing at the teeny shapes saying, “baby...baby...”. Out of the mouths of babes...  Amazing that the children can see what so many grown men and women cannot.  Just goes to show how UNnatural this whole thing is—not a blindness some people are born with, but a blindness that is inflicted on some by others and by their culture or assumed by some who wish to justify their ruthless pursuit of self-interests.  How tragic to think of these clear-sighted children growing up to inherit this same blindness.

Goodbye Ohio, Hello New York!

Salve.  I'm the new guy. 

I have been in NY for 6 days, have only worked for 4 full days and already I’ve counseled 9 women, shadowed during 3 more sessions, ran a crisis pregnancy center single-handed, side-walk counseled, mastered the NY subway system and toured The City (thanks to fellow intern Carlos—and St. Raphael—I don’t have to add “got lost” to the list)—talk about diving in head first!  The LifeHouse in the Bronx is very homey, my fellow interns are wonderful and already feel like family, the lovely parish of St. Anthony's is right around the corner (literally), and the experiences to be had here are diverse, unique, interesting, and exciting.  All in all, I’d say the summer's off to a good start.