Last week, we took a group of 26 young men from the Sophomore class on a day trip to tour Homeboy Industries and visit a Servite Parish School at Divine Savior in Los Angeles.
We began the day by loading the bus and heading to Divine Savior to have Mass. We were expecting a small mass just with the people on our trip. However we were pleasantly surprised to see that their whole school had prepared a full Mass with a wonderful choir and every grade level present. They were immensely hospitable to us and provided us with breakfast and a presentation about their service to the hungry called “Good Samaritan Ministry.”
When we finished at the school we traveled down the road to the head quarters of Homeboy Industries. For those of you who have never heard of it, Homeboy Industries is a charity organization founded by Fr. Greg Boyle, that helps people who have been in gangs or incarcerated redefine their life and set them on the right path. They do this through providing them with dignifying work, education, addiction recovery, and most importantly loving community. While we were there we took a tour of their facilities, learned about what services they provide, met and heard the stories of some of the “Homies” that worked there, and saw first hand the ways that Christ is present in this ministry. I would highly recommend looking into more about this life changing organization to anyone who is curious.
Through this trip the students were able to experience and see what authentic, self-giving and life-changing ministry looks like. They were able to see first hand how much positive change one person who sees a problem in the world and follows in Christ’s footsteps can make. We are hoping to continue to build a deeper relationship with Homeboy industries as well as the students, faculty and staff of Divine Savior. This trip felt like the beginning of a mutual relationship founded on love and respect that will open the door to many possibilities in education and service.
