Denver 2020 Day 3

Today was our third full day with Christ in the City, and it was quite eventful. The day started with morning prayer and mass at St. Patrick’s Church, followed by breakfast back at the CIC house with all the missionaries and mission troopers (us!). We then spent the next few hours preparing for the weekly Lunch in the Park that Christ in the City puts on. Mission troopers were assigned to all kinds of jobs in preparation for lunch. Rachel and I were assigned to the donations team, where we helped Jude and Angelique pack crates full of men’s and women’s clothes/shoes to bring with us. Then, we headed to the park! As I looked around the park at all the missionaries, mission troopers, and our new friends on the street, I was overwhelmed with the beauty of it all. The moments shared between our new friends were an incredible image of the love we are called to give to others. It reminded me of a classic Father Marc quote, “God loves you exactly where you are, but He loves you way too much to let you stay there.” We are called to love like He loves; we are called to love people right where they are and we are called to bring them higher. It was beautiful to watch and participate in loving people right where they are. After Lunch in the Park, we spent some time with just the ladies and shared our thoughts about authentic friendships and the goodness that comes when we pursue friendships rooted in Christ. We ended the day with night prayer back at St. Patrick’s, adoration at the CIC house, and an hour of praise and worship. As I reflect on our time with CIC thus far, I keep coming back to the profound joy I’ve felt this week, today especially. Joy fell over the entirety of Lunch in the Park and was present in all of the conversations and moments we shared today. What I have come to realize even more after today’s experiences is that when people fix their eyes on Christ and love like He loves, they can easily love others well and bring joy into every encounter.

— Maddy

Today we had an opportunity to serve our friends on the street lunch in the park. What a gift it was to see so many people from different backgrounds gather together and share a meal. I met multiple  people while handing out bananas in the lunch line and as a took a moment to look around I saw so many beautiful encounters and realized that our friends on the street are no different than you or I. Sure, they may have a variety of struggles, but don’t we all?  Each and everyone of us is longing to be called by named and to be loved. It was uncomfortable at first, but when I looked these people on the eyes, I saw Jesus  and heard Him say to me what He said in the gospel passage from Monday, ” Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:31-46)

— Elizabeth