That day, Lucy and I went on visits together. We had an idea of the people we wanted to visit but the Holy Spirit had other plans. We knocked on several friends’ houses but they were either not there or just about to go out. After a while, I felt like we both surrendered to...
A good friend of mine recently shared with me that self-knowledge is self-gift. Hearing this quickly summarized what has been surely the most difficult, yet probably the most rewarding part about being here so far. They come in the form of two French and two Slavs. ...
For Memorial Day Weekend, we headed up to Buffalo, NY for a Con-solatio family reunion. We were welcomed by our own Father Peter (missionary in Argentina and now diocesan priest), Selen (Italy and El Salvador), Julia (Peru) as well as Fr. Peter’s family and my own (I, too, am a Buffalo native). We were also...
Every year, we look forward to attending the Con-solatio Annual Gala at the beautiful Bohemian National Hall in NYC. It’s always a special evening filled with love, laughter, music, meaningful encounters—and, of course, delicious food and wonderful company! It’s a joy to witness firsthand the incredible work,...
Who are we at Con-solatio and what is our mission? Words often seem to fall short of fully encapsulating our ministry of presence and compassion. This year, as we sat down to reimagine our logo, the question became even trickier: how to express something meaningful about our ministry through a simple little image? It turned...
These months have been full of newness: new people, new traditions, new routines...
One rest day, we got to go on a hiking excursion in the mountains a couple hours away. It was so beautiful, especially since I had been missing the mountains we have in Colorado. We got to a stopping point of the hike where we sat down to eat, and suddenly, coming up out of...
A few weeks ago, I had just finished buying vegetables from a friend of mine at the market. I think I had shared with him some joke I had heard the day before. As I turned to leave, there was a small boy in my path. He had ashy skin and was wearing an oversized...
This past March marked my third year helping to lead a mission trip to the Bronx and spending a day with Con-solatio and their friends. Each time I’ve come to New York, I’ve been struck by my own poverty and weakness—by how little I feel I have to give to those around me. Yet, without...
Our house here in Romania was opened just after communism ended in 1994, which means that our community turned 30 this past year! It’s events like this that really allow us to invite people from all of our different groups of friends to come and celebrate with us. One of the harder realities about our...