St. Paul writes about God’s  wisdom in his first letter to Corinthians. It is not a wisdom of this age. Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden. God’s wisdom still challenges us and makes us uncomfortable. We give thanks and praise that we have a God who is active in  purifying us and drawing us closer to Him! A God who yearns to disrupt us for the benefit of our salvation and the salvation of others.

God used Hope of the Poor to challenge me,  make me uncomfortable, and draw me closer to Him. Which is why I am more than incredibly excited to share Hope of the Poor with all of you! Craig Johring, the founder, and Ramiro, one of his staff, will be coming to Queen of Apostles Family of Parishes for a pre-Lent mission on Sunday, February 19 at 3:00 pm in the OLV Catholic Center cafeteria. They will introduce us to Hope of the Poor’s mission and invite us to encounter Christ in the poor - God’s wisdom. They will invite us to be uncomfortable for the sake of growing closer to our Lord Jesus Christ. Queen of Apostles plans to return to Mexico City with Hope of the Poor this fall (more information to come).
 
My first experience with Hope of the Poor was in March of 2020 while serving as chaplain for a FOCUS mission trip of college students. To  further set the scene, I was still in my first year  of priesthood, and I had done a ton of mission work over the years - domestic and international. I was the expert; I was in my element; I was  comfortable. Then Craig Johring, the founder of Hope of the Poor, enters the scene. He invited all of us to see the face of Christ in the poor - the homeless, street kids, the workers in the dump - to look them in the eye and adore Christ in them.

From my place of comfort, I wasn’t fazed by the invitation. Then, God and our Blessed Mother made me uncomfortable. I realized that I was more focused on my abilities than being open to God’s wisdom and whatever He had in store for me. It’s not all about me, it is about Him. I must decrease, He must increase. I saw Craig  living in the present moment and adoring Christ in the poor. So, I decided to surrender my pride and dive into the discomfort of God’s wisdom. I didn’t do anything fancy, feel any crazy emotions, or hear any voices. I simply went from person to person, in God’s time, encountering Christ in them and adoring Him. Whether it was a dying patient in the woman’s shelter, or a college student on the trip, or a single mother on the street. I was open to whatever the Lord had to teach me, challenge me, make me uncomfortable. I have now been down 4 times with Hope of the Poor to Mexico City. In big and small ways, the Lord used Hope of the Poor as a catalyst to draw me closer to Him, and our Blessed Mother is still meddling with my heart.
 
I hope to see you all there for the one-day pre-Lent mission on Sunday, February 19 at 3:00 pm at OLV to hear directly from Craig and Ramiro. Please begin praying for them, that the Holy Spirit is with them as they speak.  Please pray that you are open about being open to receive God’s wisdom and respond.
 
In Mary’s Immaculate Heart,
Fr. Stegbauer