Pentecost is by far my favorite day of the year. It reminds me of our great call to love one another—a grand summons to love in action. And it comforts me that Jesus kept his word and sent us help to do this through the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. We all need a trustworthy advocate, don’t we? Whether it’s spiritual or physical, we all need someone who, like the popular adage proclaims, “has our back.” And it is a joy that each and every one of us can be that person. We, in fact, have access to this incredible grace. And rest assured that here at St. Bakhita House, we lean into this and we have our women’s backs!
We really try to live Pentecost here in our own humble way. However, our mission at St. Bakhita Catholic Worker is clear—we do not push our Catholic faith on the women in our community. We simply try to practice it. I have long believed that faith in action is the most authentic evangelization. Like that favorite childhood church hymn taught us, “they will know we are Christians by our love.”
And yet, to that point and at this time, we have one woman in our survivor community who regularly attends Mass at St. Martin De Porres Parish next door and sometimes on Tuesdays in our Chapel. There is another woman who left our home but returns to Mass on Sundays because she likes it. There is also a woman living in our community who is preparing to participate in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), who graduated and enthusiastically became a Catholic Worker. Heck, one of the shining lights in our Catholic Worker community has been Zoey, a young Marquette student who was so moved by the witness of Dorothy Day that she added a third major—Theology! Did this just happen to happen? I would suggest no. The Advocate does Her work–send down the fire!
On a practical note, and filled with that Pentecost Spirit/goodwill/love, many people have been asking me lately what tangible items we could use at the house. If you are one of those people, please know that we keep an updated list on our website. Here is the link: https://stbakhitahouse.org/donations/ Thank you in advance for your generosity. And if you are a faith-filled person—thank you for living your faith. Again, send down the fire!
Finally, as the light of Pentecost gets further in the distance, it can be tempting to let the darkness we see envelop us. But please try to remember that the light dispels the darkness.
Send down the fire. Drink it in. Live it out. We can do this!
