Greetings!
One of the more sobering expressions I have found myself contemplating throughout my life journey, and sharing with my students as an ethics teacher, states “the last temptation is the greatest treason, to do the right deed for the wrong reason”(T.S. Elliot) . Whew!! That’s jarring. Yet necessary to consider. And really a true north for a Catholic Worker community striving to adopt the Christian personalism espoused by a prophet such as Dorothy Day. It is a guidepost we contemplate every day as we live in our community of care with each woman survivor who enters St. Bakhita House.
I share this with you because we want you to know that our community life here St. Bakhita Catholic Worker House is focused on loving and caring for each individual we welcome into our space. And the “our space” includes absolutely everyone in our community. This past month we really were blessed by living in a joyous time that celebrated sobriety milestones with a rousing evening of singing, sauntering and celebration. Karaoke –Bakhita style! The singing, dancing and strutting were a little piece of heaven. And our trip to the Black Holocaust Museum, followed by delectable delights at Daddy’s Soul Food & Grille, was an educational and bonding break from routine. And finally, our newly planted garden, thanks to help from Sr. Margaret, Ron, Brianna, Mario, Antoinette, Elizabeth, and one of our survivors is thriving and a testimony to the long agrarian history of the Catholic Worker. It is definitely a humble beginning!
Our hearts are full of gratitude toward the 100+ Women Who Care, the World Mission Office, and all of you generous donors who make life here a place of fun, beauty, and dignity. Let’s keep this going here, there and everywhere.
Many blessings,
