Setting Up Chairs…And Other Works of Mercy – January 25, 2018

As we prepare for the funeral of a young parishioner tomorrow, I am in awe of the many parishioners who have volunteered to help – to direct traffic, to greet at the door, to sing in the choir, and more.  “Burying the dead” is one of the seven corporal works of mercy inspired by Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 25 (along with feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, sheltering the homeless, and visiting the sick and imprisoned). 

And sometimes that means setting up chairs.

As I write this, Becca Jackson (our staff member responsible for Facilities, Buildings and Grounds) is directing a group of folks setting up hundreds of extra chairs in the church.  The task: pull the chairs up from their storage space in the basement, haul them through the chapel into the church, neatly set them up in the nave of the church to provide the most seating possible – without violating any fire code.  

When we sent out an email-blast to the families of our teens and tweens requesting help with the chairs, the response was quick and generous. Marvin Grilliot received the request because he’s a dad.  But he’s also a teacher of theology at Rockhurst High and the director of the Hurtado Scholars program there.  So he brought his middle school boys to help. 

The Hurtado Scholars program is “an educational and leadership opportunity offered by Rockhurst High School to prepare middle school boys for success at a college preparatory high school and beyond.”  It is named after St. Alberto Hurtado (1901-1952), the Chilean Jesuit who founded homes and offered education to impoverished boys throughout Chile.

It is so good to be here at St. Francis Xavier, rooted in the gospel of Jesus and guided by the Jesuit Core Values.  The same gospel and the same values that inspired Alberto Hurtado: Finding God in All Things, Reflection & Discernment, Men and Women With and For Others, Contemplation in Action, Diversity in Community, Focus on the Whole Person, and the Magis.

Death, especially the violent death of a young person, is a kind of darkness.  But there is so much light here.  May we continue to be light in the world and build up the Kingdom of God at 52nd and Troost.