During the summer of 2013, I had the opportunitiy to travel to Brazil and participate in Magis and World Youth Day. Magis is a week-long program sponsored by the Society of Jesus. Over 25000 youth from around the world gathered for a cultural immersion, then split into groups for pilgrimages and service trips around Brazil. I took part in a pilgrimage, which you can read more about in my reflection that is attached. After Magis, we traveled to Rio de Janeiro to join over 3 million youth to celebrate the Catholic faith. World Youth Day brought together youth from all over the world to celebrate and experience the joy of the Catholic faith. Pope Francis was present and said the closing mass on the Copacabana Beach. I will never forget my experience in Brazil as it energized me and ignited a deep passion for my faith. It instilled in me a deep desire to strive for the magis, or the more, in the sense of more acts of kinds, more humility and more love.

In August 2013, ten other students and I started an off-campus intentional living community called Faber House. While the idea started as a service house, Faber House has become a community focused on putting our faith into action through community, service and prayer. Once a week we have family dinner followed by a reflection or an activity. Reflection topics have ranged from happiness to forgiveness to living responsibly. Once a month we invite other students, professors or community members to join us. We take St. Peter Faber as our patron because he was the "quiet companion" of St. Ignatius. Peter Faber spent time in reflection, but also educated others and built community. We hope that Faber House has become and will continue to be a place of great friendship, hospitality and love. By living out the Jesuit values that Loyola has taught us, we strive for magis and to be men and women for others.

For my spring break in 2014, I chose to travel to Los Angeles, not for the glamor of Hollywood or the sandy beach, but for the desire to serve the homeless. What I found in L.A. was much more than just a fulfillment of my desire though. My heart was broken for the people that lined the streets of Skid Row, the man who used the beach showers as his personal shower, the teens who didn't have anywhere to go at night, the man who had a degree but couldn't find a job for the last 20 years.

The Alternative Break Immersion program challenged my faith through the desolations of social injustices that I saw. I often asked myself, “Where is God in the poverty I witnessed in Los Angeles?” I found God in the opportunity to see my faith at work by being with and for others. The community of love and compassion in Los Angeles strengthened my faith and offered great moments of consolation in God. I was wrong to call them homeless. Each person has a story. These are people who just happen to be experiencing homelessness. The greatest thing I heard someone say was, "Homeless is not a noun." These are people  who deserve dignity and respect.

The picture is of my group with Fr. Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries. Homeboy Industries serves high-risk, formerly gang-involved men and women with a wide range of services from career development to job opportunities to tattoo removal. Fr. Greg wrote Tattoos on the Heart, a book of his stories while he was pastor of Dolores Mission, a parish in the middle of the most dangerous areas due to gang violence. His ability to show love and compassion, to be with others helped change the town and give hope.