In the spirit of Ignatian Week, Belen serves the community
One of the pillars of Belen Jesuit’s Ignatian identity is a call to service - a call that is cemented in our motto, “Men For Others.” In that spirit, members of the Belen faculty and staff set out to serve different communities around Miami during Ignatian Week, March 11-15. By the end of the day, fifteen different groups of faculty and staff members had visited fifteen locations ranging from Catholic churches to urban gardens to nursing homes, spending time serving a wide variety of different needs.
“The tradition of Ignatian Week is to recognize the inspiration of St. Ignatius and the Ignatian saints in prayer and service. Therefore this day helped faculty and staff walk in the footsteps of St. Ignatius by taking them out of their comfort zones to encounter Christ in the other,” said Belen Community Outreach Service Coordinator Teresita Gonzalez.
One location served was Notre Dame d’Haiti Catholic Church, located on Northeast 62nd Street in Miami. There, some Belen staffers helped out with the child care services, having fun with children on the playground or reading books to them during classroom time. Other faculty members participated in the church’s Adult Literacy Program, helping students with their English skills.
All around Miami, other groups helped out in different ways. One group of teachers broke out shovels and assisted at an urban garden by tilling soil for crops. Another group held a workshop for women in a substance abuse and post incarceration program.
“The diversity of locations revealed different things, it seems, to different people,” Gonzalez said. “Some groups were made more aware of the fragile and broken lives of so many in our community and their perseverance. For some, it was a reminder that presence is a gift we take for granted.”
Participants in the day of service returned from the day tired but satisfied with the work performed. “Our group went to an after school program in Florida City,” said Director of College Counseling Lisa Peterson. “Although we didn’t get to interact with the kids - we knew this in advance - I have to say, I have never been happier and more satisfied about cleaning outdoor light fixtures. I’m pretty sure none of the kids will notice that the lights are cleaner, but we felt good about our small contribution.”
Though the day of service eventually came to end, the lessons learned during the day are meant to be continuously heeded even beyond Ignatian Week. Gonzalez explained that the purpose of the day of service is, in addition to helping those in need, to expand the faculty’s horizons. “In doing so, [the staff] brings back to the classroom a new perspective of the "other" which enriches our approach to charity and justice as two inseparable aspects of our faith,” Gonzalez said.
Faculty and staff were not the only ones to serve their community during Ignatian Week. Middle School students spent the Thursday of Ignatian Week working on service day projects in their Theology classes. Sixth grade prepared Easter bags and notes of encouragement for Sofia’s Hope, Inc which in turn will deliver to cancer patients. Seventh grade prepared toiletry bags for Camillus House. Eighth grade decorated rocks with inspirational messages for Miami Rocks 305. The rocks will be used to decorate areas such as hospital gardens to encourage people going through a difficult time.
“In the words of Mother Teresa: ‘if we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another,” Gonzalez said.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.