Ave Explores Series | Faith in Action | Week 3
The Poor Find Love in the Full of Grace Café
by Fr. Joshua Johnson
It was Tuesday afternoon and Mrs. Christine realized she needed to pick up some groceries for her family. Once she finalized her shopping list, she picked up her grandson and made her way to the local supermarket. As she and her young grandson waited in line at the checkout counter, she noticed a woman and toddler not too far in the distance. After she finished paying for her groceries, she approached the woman who appeared to be homeless. She was barefoot, her clothes looked like they hadn’t been washed in weeks and she had a look of desperation on her face.
Mrs. Christine politely introduced herself to the woman, engaging her in a casual conversation—a daily event for many, if not most, who reside in the deep south. Eventually, Mrs. Christine went from exchanging initial pleasantries to talking to the woman about what she envisioned sharing with her as she stood in the checkout line. She said, “Ma’am, I don’t want to intrude in your life, but I am a member of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church. We have a ministry called the Full of Grace Café. Our café has a coffee shop, hair salon, diaper bank, food pantry, counselors, lawyers, and we even cook meals throughout the week so we can gather for fellowship. I know this may sound odd, but would you like to accompany my grandson and me to the cafe? We are on the way there right now.” The young woman informed Mrs. Christine that she didn’t have a car so it would be difficult for her to meet them. Without missing a beat, Mrs. Christine said, “No problem, my car is big enough for all of us! Would you mind if I drove the four of us?” The woman consented and a few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. As they approached the Full of Grace Café, the lay disciples working in the food pantry opened the front doors smiling and welcomed Mrs. Christine and her new friends.
After sitting down with the woman and her toddler and listening to her story over coffee, volunteers offered her a meal, groceries from the pantry, and diapers for her child. They informed her that the barber was on his way in case she was interested in having their hair groomed. Mrs. Christine then invited her to be a part of the community through one of our small-group bible studies. After explaining the fruits they’ve witnessed because of our bible studies, they shared our Mass schedule and encouraged her to join us for worship. Before she left, they asked her, “Can we pray with you?” She consented and a group of women surrounded their new sister in a circle and began to pray for her and with her.
Another parishioner, Celeste, walked in the Full of Grace Café and noticed a group of people praying so she dropped everything she was carrying and joined her fellow parishioners in spontaneous prayer. Celeste experienced a profound conversion at the parish through her participation in retreats, bible studies, and Mass. In addition to prioritizing these community gatherings, she was also very intentional about the time she spent each morning with Jesus in prayer. That morning, her prayer was focused on the feet of Christ. As she prayed, she opened her eyes, looking to the ground and noticed a woman’s bare feet. After the ladies concluded their prayer, Celeste asked the woman in the middle of the circle about the size of her feet. To her amazement, the woman’s feet were the same size as her feet. She offered the woman her socks and shoes. The woman began to weep. They all embraced each other and welcomed their new sister in Christ!
In my experience as a priest and a pastor, I have witnessed many disciples of Jesus Christ manifest a profound and reverent love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. At the same time, I have also witnessed disciples of Jesus Christ walk out of Adoration chapels and completely ignore the presence of Christ in the poor. In prayer, I perceived our Lord tell me that he wanted to be loved in the Eucharist and in the poor. This is one of the reasons my team and I collaborated to establish the café in the front of our campus. We wanted it to be clear that the priority of our parish is worship of God at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and friendship with the poorest of the poor in our community.
In addition to many other experiences which have already been documented in blogs and articles about the founding of the Full of Grace Café, at the core—the reason why my team and I worked so hard to make this sacred place a reality almost two years ago—was to console the heart of Jesus and quench his thirst for charity and justice.
I can honestly say from the depths of my heart the community which I have been blessed to walk with in this small bayou town are a group of intentional disciples who seek out the face of Christ in the Eucharist, the Scriptures, and in the poorest of the poor.
Download this article as a PDF here.
Fr. Joshua Johnson is beginning his third year as pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church in St. Amant, LA.
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