Newsletters for Easter 2008
Jessica’s Letter
Dear Family and Friends,
At the end of each home visit, we offer prayer. When we ask, “What would you like to pray for?” we often hear, “pray that I can move,” or “for help with my alcohol problem,” or “that my baby’s father will come around.” Sometimes we hear, “pray for our survival.” We are rarely asked to pray for a permanent and peaceful home, complete healing from an addiction or illness, or a stable father who will dedicate himself in marriage. Sometimes we fail to even think of offering these prayers for our friends. We don’t trust God’s power and goodness even though Jesus promises, “I have come that you might have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10).
Why do we fail to trust Him? It is because we do not believe that we are desperately loved. We think that He wants to give us limited gifts even though He gives Himself entirely on the Cross and in the Eucharist. He even “eagerly desires” to do so (Lk 22:15).
At A Simple House we try to address these deeper issues through a ministry of friendship evangelization. We show our friends that they are greatly loved not only by us but, more importantly, by God. As Mother Teresa said, “What the poor need even more than food and clothing and shelter (though they need these, too, desperately) is to be wanted.”
I recently took a friend to a pregnancy center to get her baby clothes and diapers. She’s twenty-four years old and about to have her fifth child. Originally, she wasn’t going to keep the baby. The other day, we were standing in her apartment talking about the difficulties of this pregnancy. As a ‘solution,’ I offered to take her back to the center for some more things. She had been packing to move and her couches were full of boxes overflowing onto the floor. She just pointed and said, “Jess, I think I have enough stuff.” I can’t explain how ridiculous I felt in that moment! I failed to realize that her anxiety was not primarily over material things. She is more deeply distressed that the previous fathers of her children have put her aside and that the new one is not returning her calls. She is experiencing a horrible feeling of being unloved, unwanted, and abandoned along with a deep sense of shame. None of these issues can be fixed by any thing. Ultimately, they must be healed by Someone.
Our friendship is an introduction to Him. As Pope Benedict says, “When we bring people only knowledge, ability, technical competence and tools [I would add groceries, diapers, clothes] we bring them too little.” When we bring our friends love and the God who is Love, we bring the one necessary thing, “the good portion, which shall not be taken away” (Lk 10:42).
Please continue to pray for us and for our friends.
Jessica Hensle
In Other (Good) News
- Your generosity made the Christmas Outreach a great success. We were able to give gifts to 118 children and Christmas baskets to 160 families. A special thanks goes to Visitation HS.
- In February, Simple House volunteers had a week of silent retreat in upstate NY.
- Sam Fontana and Tyler Smedley are seminarians and new part-time volunteers.
- A group from Ball State Univ. visited us in March for an alternative spring break.
- We are planning a major Easter outreach for Holy Saturday. There will also be two baptisms related to our ministry at Easter Vigil.
Kelly’s Letter
Dear Family and Friends,
I have been thinking about the love and mercy Jesus has for all of us. The Lord will forgive us for anything we have done if we accept His mercy. The simple request of the thief on the cross and how Jesus said he would be in paradise illustrate Christ’s mercy (Lk 23:40-43). The Lord gives the same mercy to us if we will accept it. His abundant mercy comes directly from His abundant love. We are called to pour out all of the love He gives us to others. As I pondered these things, I recalled recent events in my life where God has shown His love and mercy.
Our friend Diana has had a hard life. She used to live in Alaska where she had a nice house, a family, and worked as a real-estate agent. The details of her life are hard to piece together, but she lost everything and ended up homeless in DC. A few years ago, she was blessed with housing. She has a good heart and wants to help others as much as possible, but her past experiences have left her with bitterness, anger, and the question “why did this have to happen to me?” This is all that she thinks about, and in a recent visit, she cried out, “I do not understand why I am like this, and why everyone rejects me!” The human heart can be very lonely when it feels like everything has been taken away. The only solution to this problem is Jesus Christ. Without Him, some situations do not make sense and tempt us to despair. In Him and through Him, we can hope. Fr. Raniero Cantalemessa, O.F.M Cap. explains that it is by the cross that Christ conquered Satan and all of his works. Now, by the cross, everything that Satan tries to do becomes a victory for Christ in His Divine Providence. We must believe that the power of Christ on the cross has the ability to conquer Satan and bring good out of everything he tries to do.
Christ is showing His victory in Diana’s life. She came to church with us one Sunday and grace began to flow through her. Afterwards, she decided to go on a pilgrimage and began to confront and forgive all that happened in her past. Praise be to God for His love and His mercy. He shows us everyday that we can forgive others and turn back to Him.
Helena is 70 years old and lives with us at the House of the Three Teresa’s. Helena spends her days sitting on our front steps or in the kitchen. She has a hard time walking, and she might have schizophrenia. Her ailments prevent her from doing things I take for granted. A couple of months ago, we felt the need to contact a social worker because we were not sure if Helena needed a different environment for her medical needs. Since then, she has received a guardian who will decide if Helena should stay with us or move. It has been very stressful for her as doctors, social workers, and lawyers come to see her. All of us want the best for her, but it is painful to think that she might not be here in the future. Ryan pointed out how lucky we are to have Helena with us. Everyday we have the opportunity to serve Christ and to love Him by loving Helena. Although it is hard to come home from a day of serving the poor and continue to serve, it is what we are called to do as Christians. Christ gives us everything we need to live a Christian life, and everything we give to Him also comes from Him.
Thank you for your support of our little ministry and making everything we do possible.
Kelly Pertee