Day 5 Thursday Denver

Day 5 in Denver! I have the opportunity to be staying with a soon-to-be consecrated lay family. So every morning, Sidney and I wake up and walk to the Beatitudes’ convent just down the road from their house for morning prayer at 7 am. I absolutely love praying with the Beatitudes everyday; there’s nothing like a 5-part harmony to wake you up in the morning! After prayer and mass this morning, our whole Headlights crew took a trip to the Mother Cabrini Shrine. I didn’t know much about this Saint until today, but I am truly fascinated by her. Fun fact: she was the first canonized American Saint! She purchased over 500 acres of land in Denver for an orphanage, which we got to go visit today. Mother Cabrini miraculously found a spring that is filled with holy water. The latest known miracle was a year ago when a woman visited the Mother Cabrini Shrine in Denver and poured some of the water from Cabrini’s Spring on her wounded leg. Instantaneously, her wound was healed. After hearing this story, I was beyond eager to go visit the spring myself. Upon reaching it, I noticed paper cups were available and I actually got to drink the holy water from the spring!!! Then we continued hiking up to visit the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. It was an incredible experience to be surrounded by the beauty of the mountains and I can honestly say I felt the undeniable presence of both Mother Cabrini and the Lord today.
After such an amazing morning, I was so ready to go out and do some street ministry in downtown Denver. It’s amazing how much my perspective has changed on this whole ministry. I’ve been walking around for 3 days now talking to people on the streets of Denver and I don’t think of any of them any different from myself. Jesus is so present in each and every encounter I’ve had on the streets. Today I met a 26-year-old guy who was traveling from my own hometown back to Pennsylvania. We had a great conversation about Sacramento and how much he loved it there. Simple similarities and commonalities such as this remind me that we’re all connected. And on an even deeper level, we’re all children of God. I hope that by simply reaching out to the homeless and treating them with the dignity that they deserve, they may come to know their worth. It was just yesterday at our lunch in the park when a man thanked my friends and I for letting him know that he had a great heart because he claimed he often couldn’t see that himself. Sometimes it takes a little reminder- a smile, or a conversation- to remind others that they are important and that they are LOVED.
I’m feeling truly blessed for each of the encounters I’ve had on the streets of Denver and with the Beatitudes. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.
Peace, Savanna