The Last Day and Beyond

After finishing their finals, the Catholic University of America (CUA) students went on the last Homeless Food Run of the semester and what might have been their last ever Homeless Food Run in Rome. A group of thirteen students from the Australian Catholic University (ACU) who had recently arrived in Rome joined the Food Run that night, and the CUA students felt as if they were passing the torch to future students at the Rome center. It was reassuring to see that the service was to continue in the CUA Rome campus for many generations to come, for it was indispensable to a unique and experience of Rome. Of course, it was already obvious that service must be an integral part of any college campus, but the experience of going on the Food Runs made its importance ever clearer.

Homeless Food Runs are a way to meet people. However, what separates them from other opportunities to meet people is that the interaction is concretely one of service. This is the way that every relationship must fundamentally be, for service to another communicates true love and an acknowledgement of dignity. In this way, a great bond between people forms when service is carried out. The students said a heartfelt goodbye to the homeless friends that they had made.

Later, they returned to San Bartolomeo's Church for a prayer service among volunteers with a reflection on a passage of the gospel of Matthew. Then, the Italian volunteers prepared a farewell party for the CUA students who came to the Homeless Food Runs every week. They cooked pasta alla Carobonara and served the famous Italian Panetone bread for desert. We ate around a table as a family and talked together about the organization Sant'Egidio. Our leader Paolo urged the CUA students to continue doing service and start a branch of the Sant'Egidio in our home states. Contacts were exchanged and there was brainstorming on how to bring Sant'Egidio to even more people than the many around the world who are already impacted by the organization's work.

The Sant'Egidio organization is so important because not only does it do service but it has been approved by the Catholic Church, heavily emphasizing the importance of faith and reliance on God. It is truly a community, for it cares about the people themselves--body, mind, and soul--and not simply feeding a number of mouths. The community has grown so much globally because it is centered around God, evidenced by its numerous prayer services each week. The Holy Spirit keeps it together because "where two or three have gathered together in [His] name . . . there [He is] in their midst" (Matthew 18:20).