Blessings on the Corner

Hello All! My name is Amy, I attend the University of Dayton where I am pursuing a major in Religious Studies, and am one of the twelve participants on the Marianist LA Breakout. Everything we have seen in the past five days have been transformational. I think the thing that strikes me most is where we find random blessings. A few nights ago we talked about metanoia, and going against the  grain to turn around. In relation to this idea Jesus calls us to move against our culture toward the poor, where the most pure love and joy is. I can attest to the fact that in the places most inundated with gang violence, homelessness, and general poverty are the folks that say God bless you and praise God regularly. For example today we stopped in a little Mexican restaurant for breakfast, the owner was so impressed that he gave us king cake and thanked us profusely for choosing his restaurant and said God bless you repeatedly. While we were eating lunch today in the plaza of Dolores Mission a homeless man approached us selling lollipops, we decided to give him lunch with the rest of our food. While we prepared lunch he prayed at the statue of St. Ignatius and again said God bless you over and over. These are just two examples of the beautiful people we have seen, but it  makes me think that it's worth it to seek out the poor to find pure joy, there God is praised daily in a way that is so open and so genuine. I have seen the face of Christ in so many people and I have been shaped so much from the small interactions we have had this week and the presence of God has found me at every corner.