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December 2017 The Newsletter of the Las Vegas Catholic Worker Volume 32, Number 2

Compassionate Hearts, Mystical Bodyby Julia Occhiogrosso

Six pots boil away on the stove; it’s mymorning to cook! A new Fettuccine Alfredorecipe demands more of my focus. Still,I’m aware of the volunteer arrivals.Conversations and greetings spill in and Irecognize familiar voices and noticenewcomers.

Miraculously, without muchcoordination on most mornings, enoughvolunteers arrive before dawn toparticipate in our mission of providing a hotmeal for a few hundred homeless men,women and sometimes children.

Our volunteers trek from all parts of thecity. Many are Catholic, some are fromother faith traditions and some not claimingany religious affiliation at all. They are allages: parents with young children, retirees,college students and teenage youth groups.They come from varied life experiences:teachers, doctors, social workers, artists,peace activists and seekers.

Looking about the circle, gathered hand-in-hand in prayer before venturing out toserve the morning feast, I am often struck

by the spectrum of diversity. People whoare unlikely to cross paths and converseare in this moment standing side-by-side,ready to transcend any illusion of ourseparateness for the greater purpose athand.

A mystical body is being formed as weare willing to move together into the zoneof the suffering reality with vulnerable,

compassionate hearts. A mystical body thatnot only coexists but coalesces to manifestand mirror the divine light present in all life.

The miracle of what happens at the

People who are unlikely to crosspaths and converse are in thismoment standing side-by-side,ready to transcend any illusionof our separateness for thegreater purpose at hand.

A mystical body is beingformed as we are willing tomove together into the zone ofthe suffering reality withvulnerable, compassionatehearts.

Drying dishes for the soup line: From left: Henry Freeman, EvelynNicholson, Loretta Niedzwiecki, Kim Clark, Brionnie Andrews, PaulinoEspinoza, Mark Haynes, Ray McCollum

Mixing Macaroni Salad for the soup line: From left: Paulino Espinoza,Robert Majors, Eugene Sipat, Edna Bernardo, Mark Kelso, Olive O'Donnell,Andrew Sipat

Catholic Worker may be that the multitudesare fed.

And with your help we have done thisconsistently for over thirty-two years. YetI offer that in this historic moment anotherdimension of the Catholic Worker waybecomes especially relevant. In a timewhere many are defaulting to a stance ofhatred, intolerance, fear and divisiveness,

we stay committed to the vision of Gospellove and nonviolence. We aim to provide aplace for the many members of this brokenbody to find hope and healing in working

together for the well being of the lost andforgotten. We need your financial kindnessto continue our ministry here on the streetsof Las Vegas.

PayPal will pay 101% of donations madeto the Las Vegas Catholic Worker inDecember. See our website:www.lvcw.org

Las Vegas Catholic Worker500 W. Van Buren Ave.Las Vegas, NV 89106-3039

www.lvcw.org mail@lvcw.org (702) 647-0728

Wednesday-Saturday, 6:00 a.m.:Morning prayer at Catholic Worker.Wednesday-Saturday, 6:30 a.m.:Breakfast served to 150-200 poor &homeless people.Wednesday, 8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.:Hospitality Day, we invite 20 homelessmen home for showers, to washclothes and for a great lunch.Thursday, 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.:Vigil for Peace in front of FederalCourthouse, 333 Las Vegas Blvd. S.Thursday, 10:30 a.m.:50 lunches taken to the homeless.Second Saturday of the month:Knights of Columbus Pancake Break-fast to the homeless.Third Saturday of the month:Deliver food boxes to homes in need.

Las Vegas Catholic Worker 500 W. Van Buren Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89106-3039

(702) 647-0728 mail@lvcw.org www.lvcw.org

PLEASE JOIN US:

Christmas Breakfast: Sat., Dec. 23, 6:30 a.m.We will be Closed: Wed., Dec. 27 - Sat. Dec. 30, 2017

Empty Bowl Benefit: April 14, 2018

Hello everyone, Katie and John here. Somemay remember us from our three years at the LasVegas Catholic Worker. We have been at the St.Thomas House of Hospitality of the New Or-leans Catholic Worker for over two years now. This 110+ year-old house provides much suc-cor and entertainment. Succor, from providinghospitality to intact houseless families. Entertain-ment, from the endless repairs like bedroom ceil-ings collapsing with accompanying waterfalls ofrain. Last week we captured a 5-inch spider fromthe kitchen. As John answered the door, screams

Role Playingby Robert MajorsWe play this way from young to oldWe act the part and play the roleChildren act like mom and dadYelling orders, make demandsDress in clothes too oversizedTo feel the essence of their livesWhen Christmas comes the roles aremerrySanta Clause and happy caringA role we’ve learned from stories toldBy those we love of roles they knowTo give a gift and keep on sharingshowing mercy keep on caringEven trees have made disguiseOf light and everlasting lifeBut looking deep at roles we holdThose who witness what we showPlay the role oldest of allThe first with words, the first who sawAnd gave a role of joyous graceA warming heart and smiling faceThankful that it’s all a partThe silent night, Black Friday cartsJolly songs and happy strangersGrinch the scrooge and red-nosedreindeersSometimes it is not so clearBut all these roles are always hereThey play themselves throughout the yearBut change the way that they appearfor each has brought a way of lifeFor good or bad they each providethe actors, costumes, plays and plotsWill all become our story taught

Katie and John in New Orleans

Wedding Day: John Yevtich and Katie Kelsowere married on May 1, 2014 at the EarthAbides Catholic Worker Farm in the Sierrafoothills of California. From left: MargaretKelso holding Betti Kelso (Katie’s sister andniece), Margaret Radcliffe (Katie’s mom),John Yevtich, Katie Kelso, Mark Kelso (Katie’sDad), Ian Kelso (Katie’s brother)

of “Kill It, Kill It!” greeted a motheron her move-in day. We host two families in the largeupstairs bedrooms. When we’re notwashing dishes, preparing meals orscrubbing toilets we can be foundat various social justice activitiesaround the city. While addressing our whiteprivilege we join Black-led effortsto dismantle racism in our city andbeyond. We are still celebrating theremoval of four Confederate stat-ues. Racism is deeply rooted hereand its effects are shown clearlythrough mass incarceration, policeabuse, poverty, poor neighbor-hoods, flooding and inadequate ac-cess to good education. Spiritual and meditative time isprecious and we are ever gratefulto have access to our parish’schapel for group prayer. While the Catholic Workerhouse is running relatively smoothlywe have much work to do in ourcity. We ask always for prayers andactions toward an end to racism inour communities and in our hearts. We miss our Vegas family andcommunity and send our blessings.

by Dorothy DayThe Corporal Works of Mercy are to feed

the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, toclothe the naked, to ransom the captive, toharbor the harborless, to visit the sick, andto bury the dead.

When Peter Maurin talked about the ne-cessity of practicing the Works of Mercy,he meant all of them. He envisioned Housesof Hospitality in poor parishes in every cityof the country, where these precepts of OurLord could be put into effect. He pointedout that we have turned to state responsi-bility through home relief, social legislation,and social security, that we no longer prac-tice personal responsibility, but are repeat-ing the words of the first murderer, “Am Imy brother’s keeper?”

The Works of Mercy are a wonderfulstimulus to our growth in faith as well aslove. Our faith is taxed to the utmost and sogrows through this strain put upon it. It ispruned again and again, and springs up bear-ing much fruit. For anyone starting to liveliterally the words of the Fathers of theChurch—“What is superfluous for one’sneed is to be regarded as plunder if one re-

tains it for one’s self”—there is always atrial ahead. “Our faith, more precious thangold, must be tried as though by fire.”

Here is a letter we received today: “I tooka gentleman seemingly in need of spiritualand temporal guidance into my home on aSunday afternoon. Let him have a nap onmy bed, went through the want ads withhim, made coffee and sandwiches for him,and when he left, I found my wallet hadgone also.”

I can only say that the saints would onlybow their heads and not try to understandor judge. They received no thanks—well,then, God had to repay them. This is ex-pecting heroic charity, of course. But thesethings happen for our discouragement, forour testing. We are sowing the seed of love,and we are not living in the harvest time.We must love to the point of folly, and weare indeed fools, as Our Lord Himself waswho died for such a one as this. It is agonyto go through such bitter experiences, be-cause we all want to love, we desire with agreat longing to love our fellows, and ourhearts are often crushed at such rejections.But, as a Carmelite nun said to me last week,

“It is the crushed heart which is the softheart, the tender heart.”

Dorothy Day co-founded the CatholicWorker movement with Peter Maurin inNew York in 1933. This selection is ed-ited from an article written in Nov. 1949.

The Scandal of the Works of Mercy

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