For me, the Thanksgiving to Epiphany Holiday season is always more “holy” when celebrated in conjunction with the Guests, Community and Volunteers at Karen House.
Those who know me well, know that I tried to volunteer at Karen House as a house-taker years ago when I first moved to Saint Louis. I even intentionally moved from the East Coast to the neighborhood where Karen House is located in order to be a part of the activity of Karen House. I say I tried to be a house-taker, because, I tried and failed. The chaos of answering the phone, the doorbell, the persistent plea for help by a guest, and the desire for attention by one or more of the children (guests)—all simultaneously, was too much for me to handle. I am much better at being a “friend” of Karen House. I can offer some help when asked, and my opinions even when not asked. I can leave the chaos and the heartache behind when I go home, and yet the joy stays with me (though sometimes the heartache too).
I just came home from “crashing” a volunteer appreciation dinner at Karen House. Lovely people, lovely stories of how thankful the volunteers are to have a place to offer help. Stories of changed lives. A story by a mother of a community member, that she is so happy her son is happy to be living and working at Karen House. There were only a few of the countless hundreds—maybe thousands of folks who, together have made Karen House a home for so many women and children over the thirty plus years. As my spouse, Teka, said: “coming to Karen House and being part of the community and the lives of the guests and volunteers, I am not alone anymore”.*
In my opinion, one cannot truly understand the good news of Christmas and Epiphany until one has experienced it at a Catholic Worker house of hospitality. From Thanksgiving dinner to Christmas Eve Mass and Christmas brunch and dinner. Kids opening presents in the warmth and security of Karen House Home. There is nothing like it. It is good to be home for the holidays.
If you have a Catholic Worker house near you, spend some time there during the holidays—you will not be alone anymore. Your life will be transformed.
*Dorothy Day:
“The most significant thing about The Catholic Worker is poverty, some say. The most significant thing is community, others say. We are not alone anymore. But the final word is love. At times it has been, in the words of Father Zossima [a character in The Brothers Karamozov], a harsh and dreadful thing, and our very faith in love has been tried through fire. We cannot love God unless we love each other, and to love we must know each other. We know Him in the breaking of the bread, and we know each other in the breaking of the bread, and we are not alone anymore. Heaven is a banquet and life is a banquet, too, even with a crust, where there is companionship.” “We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.”
Peace,
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