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In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives clear instructions for social justice: “I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me; ill and you cared for me; in prison and you visited me.”
Viatorians strive for service that includes these corporal acts of mercy. As federal budget uncertainty increases food insecurity and erratic immigration enforcement heightens vulnerable people’s fears, this service, especially feeding the hungry, is urgently important.
Here are efforts by Viatorian communities to which you could contribute, with a closer look at two recent examples.
Around the Province
In the Henderson-Las Vegas region, St. Viator Catholic Community and regional Viatorian gatherings collect food and supplies that they provide to Viatorian-founded St. Thomas More Catholic Community’s outreach ministry, where Associate Cheryl Schwarz coordinates the parish food pantry.
Br. Carlos Florez, CSV, and Associate Deborah Perez during a Cristo Rey St. Viator staff volunteer day at Three Square.
Cristo Rey St. Viator College Prep students and staff serve food distributions through organizations such as the Just One Project, including pop-ups hosted on its campus, Three Square, and Wynn Foundation’s Feed the Funnel. In the coming weeks, the school will hold its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive to benefit area food banks.
In the Arlington Heights-Chicago region, Saint Viator High School students, Children of Abraham Coalition members, and Viatorian groups such as the Viatorian Youth Congress, often pack meals with Feed My Starving Children. Saint Viator students have often helped with shelter services and meals at PADS sites (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) and Journeys: The Road Home, a provider for people experiencing homelessness. Plus, the Community Giving Garden at the Province Center and its team of volunteer gardeners yield thousands of pounds of produce for area food pantries each year.
A Profoundly Open Campus
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep is a Viatorian-endorsed Cristo Rey Network high school in Waukegan, IL. This unique campus was formerly a big box retail store. The school’s renovation maintained its large parking lot and the building’s long curbside frontage. Additionally, Waukegan is the largest city in Lake County, IL, and the school is on a main road through the city that connects to an interstate.
CRSM students showed signs of support to neighbors coming for the distribution as they delivered the items curbside to cars.
This campus has bolstered the school’s community outreach and service. During the COVID pandemic, CRSM hosted vaccine clinics for the community and organized a series of on-site food distributions in partnership with Northern Illinois Food Bank. Viatorians, Viator House of Hospitality participants, and Saint Viator High School students have served with CRSM students and staff at these events.
CRSM has continued using that model, including a Holiday Meal Box Distribution on November 6, which included specific accommodations: clients could remain in their cars, were not asked to provide any documentation or identification, and were allowed to collect three additional boxes for families wishing to stay home or remain anonymous.
Director of Campus Ministry Jim Dippold said the community is feeling the challenges from food insecurity and aggressive immigration enforcement. “Folks are pulling together to support each other, and our students and staff are rising to the challenge of living the Gospel during difficult times,” Jim said. “I think we’re exactly where Pope Leo and Cardinal Cupich have been asking the Church to be: prioritizing our commitment to stand with migrants, reaching out, and serving one another, our own families, and our neighbors.”
Fittingly, the food distribution was scheduled for the same day as a CRSM open house, which Waukegan Mayor Sam Cunningham was attending. “Under the leadership of President Preston Kendall and Principal Michael Odiotti, Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep is one of the highest achieving urban schools in the Chicago area and in the Cristo Rey Network,” Mayor Cunningham said in a statement after his visit. “I am so proud that this outstanding school is in Waukegan and continues to make a lasting impact on our youth.”
The Harvest Is Abundant and the Laborers are Plentiful
In the Bourbonnais-Kankakee region, the 34th Annual Harvest Sunday united efforts from Viatorian parishes – Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. George in Bourbonnais and St. Patrick in Kankakee – with contributions from neighboring diocesan parishes, with logistics based at MBVM and Bishop McNamara Catholic School’s Kankakee campus.
(Trace the recent history of Harvest Sunday via Viatorians.com: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020)
MBVM Pastor Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV, and Br. John Alexander Avellaneda, CSV, who is serving MBVM as a deacon this year, pitch in with the donation organization.
“Harvest Sunday 34 was a huge success!” longtime area youth minister Associate Michelle Barrie said. “11 different pantries (plus MBVM) got an influx of food. The kids and adults did an amazing job.”
It takes many steps to reap this harvest: save-the-dates in August; sign-up for routes in September; flyers and bags in late October or early November; and volunteers collecting food on Harvest Sunday in November. “Those families are so awesome. It takes several hours for each route, and I get lots of fun feedback,” Coordinator of Viatorian Youth Ministry Amanda Fierce said, of the 34 routes of 200-300 houses each. “My family has great memories of working the routes, and I heard from several families this year that they’re looking forward to making it a tradition!”
Half the routes bring collections to Bishop Mac, where Michelle’s team of volunteers organizes the items for distribution to 11 food pantries. Associate Paula Wasser also coordinated a big collection at St. George, that drivers delivered to add to the contributions there. The other half of routes brought their items back to MBVM, where the parish food pantry gets restocked for its weekly on-site distribution.
At MBVM, Amanda relies on parishioner Rhonda Smith, who runs the weekly parish distribution, and Director of Religious Education Maria Pallissard to organize the site. “The items get sorted onto tables, and volunteers load up our pantry. It’s amazing to see them line everything up perfectly to maximize space,” Amanda said, as the pantry went from nearly empty to totally filled.
Michelle snapped a photo of the joyful pastor receiving the distribution for his ministry.
Sunday’s collection day coincided with this year’s first snow. Volunteers persisted, keeping the food clean and dry and delivering for their partners – and it turned out young people were rewarded when most schools called a snow day on Monday. “Morale was strong despite the weather. When food pantry staffs came to pick up, they were so grateful. It made all the work so worth it,” Michelle said. “One man stopped to give us a big thank you because he is pastor for a homeless shelter, and he was beyond thankful.” (see photo at right)
Eventually, the MBVM crew ran out of boxes and bags for overflow items; they also packed Amanda’s SUV full of baby diapers and wipes for a local crisis pregnancy center and set aside specific items for an additional youth outreach. “We packed two large cars full of boxes for Bradley West Elementary School food pantry, which sends grocery bags home with students in need on Fridays,” Amanda said. “They need items that kids can prep independently without extra ingredients, such as Easy Mac, canned soups with pull tabs, tuna packs, granola bars, and peanut butter crackers. I’m so pleased with how much we sent over there.”
“Local agencies have come to depend on the work of Harvest Sunday. It’s the only community-wide drive of its kind in this area,” Fr. Jason Nesbit, CSV, MBVM Pastor, said. “Area congregations have begun to reach out to us wondering how they could join in, too.”
While none of this outreach is contingent on anyone’s religion, it is a small way to share the joy of our faith and introduce our church communities to neighbors. “Our parishioners are so generous and interested in the process, and it’s a wonderful way to see how Bourbonnais rallies for a cause bigger than any of us. Then, on the back of the flyers, I include our contact, Mass times, and location info, plus QR codes for youth and grade school ministry,” Amanda said.
The cold weather and snowy grounds couldn’t slow down the young people of the Bourbonnais-Kankakee region!
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The Venerable Louis Querbes sent Viatorians to teach the faith and serve the holy altar, with a special attention to the underserved and socially forgotten. In our modern context, as food insecurity spikes and aggressive immigration enforcement put vulnerable people in deeper crisis, we hope these acts of service and outreach can bring peace and stability to our communities.