Sunday 2025

Hey everyone, my name is Peyton and I’m from Chattanooga, TN.  I’m here with the group from St. Joseph because I met them last year when I was an intern with Mission of Hope.  I enjoyed my time here last summer tremendously and couldn’t be happier to be back in the Dominican.

G.K. Chesterton once said, “If we really believed in democracy, we would not be debating about what we should do with the poor; the poor would be debating about what they should do with us.”

Telling us something we don’t want to hear because it’s so true is typical of Chesterton. I think this is an important quote to remember as we head into our first day of work tomorrow.

We will experience situations and living conditions that we likely wouldn’t back home. But we have to remember that no matter the conditions, every person we meet is still made in the image of God and that comes with an inherent dignity. Being down here, doing what we’re doing, isn’t a matter of charity in my opinion. It’s a matter of justice.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2446 states, “St. John Chrysostom vigorously recalls this: ‘Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours, but theirs. The demands of justice must be met first of all; that which is already due in justice is not to be offered as a gift of charity.’”

To piggy-back off of what Dave said yesterday, those we encounter this week may not be “rich” according to the world’s standards, but correct me if I’m wrong, we’re not called to live according to the world’s standards.

We went to church today at Pastor Yeudi’s. He read from 2 Chronicles and spent the time talking about how we should humble ourselves and practice the virtues of faith, hope, and charity—terms he dubbed “Weapons of Mass Construction.” He mentioned how there is a war going on, however, it’s a spiritual war. And these weapons are what we fight with. To quote Chesterton once again: “It is a battle between light and darkness and every man must choose his side.”

I think the question we should be asking ourselves heading into tomorrow should be, “How do we love these people?” How do we show those we encounter who Jesus is by just the way we live our lives and live out our faith?

These questions remind me of St. Teresa of Avila. She is well-known for saying things that really cut to the core. One of her lines is, “Imagine someone trying to meet Jesus and all they see is you?”

I think this is something to remember not only on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. It’s something we should take back home as well.  Peyton Gray