The third episode of the Power of Personhood Series, Sr. Maeve Nativitas and Richara Krejewski came alongside Brian Mundackal at the Drexel Catholic Newman Community Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss how Young Adult communities can engage in Christian personalism, while answering Christ’s call to serve the poor.
Sr. Nativitas is part of Sisters of Life, whose mission is to protect and enhance the sacredness of every human life. She mentions that God stamped a promise into mankind and willed us to have an eternal soul that is meant to be a vessel of his eternal love for us. Although we tend to reject God’s love for us, we can never lose it as our existence was made out of love. As St. John Paul II would say “Human presence is never to be treated as objects for one’s own personal means, but always as a person to be loved.” It is our duty to extend the love we have within ourselves to our brothers and sisters. Richara Krejewski adds onto the concept of personhood how several people don’t know how to help the poor because they feel that they don’t know anyone personally that are financially struggling. However, the first step in engaging, affirming, and encountering a poor person is by recognizing that poverty is accidental and contingent on different levels that may not have anything to do with the person. From personal experience, Krejewski emphasizes that there is a call for closeness and togetherness as she experiences joy in getting to know people who are not as financially stable and has grown to understand their stories while forming relationships with them.
To encounter Christ through Personhood, we have to see and accept each other for who we are. Every person’s story is so unique and unrepeatable. The greatest gift that we can give to anyone who may struggle with either materialistic or spiritual poverty is by offering ourselves to that person. As Christians, it is our duty to spread the gift of love that is within us as it is an essence given by God regardless of gender. Even with the idea of femininity and masculinity, our bodies and souls are connected as it is written within our body that help us connect to the essence of the heart regarding the roles of both women and men as we extend love within our own communities. Once we see and accept ourselves as a gift, we can use our femininity and masculinity for the greater good!
