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Sophomores Serve with Willing Hearts
Enter to Learn; Leave to Serve—that’s our Lasallian motto and a concept with which sophomores gained some practical experience recently. Over the past month, the members of the Class of 2018 traveled with peers from their religion classes to serve at St. Anthony’s Dining Room in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.
Many students served food and bussed tables while others assisted in the clothing program or visited senior citizens in nearby adult day centers. These experiences are all part of the St. Anthony’s Justice Education Day, a service-learning initiative Justin-Siena sophomores have been participating in for a number of years. This eye-opening day provides students with the opportunity to encounter people with circumstances different from their own and allows them to bring a response of loving service into the midst of suffering endured by poverty or homelessness.
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The Justice Education Day was preceded by a day of retreat focused on the Greek word “diakonia” which means “active service with a wiling heart”. The retreat engaged students in a reflection on the vision of Jesus Christ to see that the Kingdom of God realized on earth comes through loving acts of kindness that seek to meet the needs of others. Through games, group discussion, prayer, and hands-on activities, students prepared themselves to make the most of their time serving at St. Anthony’s.
About the experience Sophia Dierking '18 from Mr. Hodges’ Period Three Christology and Ecclesiology Class wrote: “A quote that I believe perfectly describes my experience with the people in St. Anthony's, is "those with less tend to give more." I met more appreciative and truly giving people there than I have possibly ever met in my entire life.”
Esmerlda Tellez '18 wrote that “At St. Anthony's I saw Christ when I saw how the volunteers would look at the people who came into the dining hall with love and respect when serving their food. It really inspired me to do the same, not only to those people but to everyone that I will now encounter. You cannot judge someone by their cover because you do not know their story. We tend to judge because we make up their stories, but we need to look with the eyes of the heart and ask for their stories.”
The Lasallian Student Life Office, which is responsible for planning and preparing the Sophomore Diakonia Retreat, would like to thank the faculty members and student leaders who participated as small group facilitators. Without their efforts, the retreats would not have been as meaningful for our students.
Live Jesus in our hearts!
Justin-Siena High School
Justin-Siena is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory community that serves young people in grades 9–12.