For many years, Cathedral faculty have begun the second semester with a faculty retreat, usually a series of PowerPoint slides followed by silent meditation and self-examination in light of Lasallian principles or Gospel values.

After last year’s retreat, however, Mr. Brady Lowdermilk suggested to Principal Br. John Montgomery that teachers try something different. This year after turning in their grades, teachers met for a brief prayer service before setting out in five vans and the bus for a morning spent in service to others.

While it is true that teaching is a Christian service of its own, it is equally important that teachers model the behavior (or “walk the walk,” as Mr. Lowdermilk put it) they encourage in their students by performing service to others outside their regular duties.

To this end, Mr. Lowdermilk began looking at charities in need of volunteer help. Eventually he lined up six sites that did not require much training, and that could benefit from a single morning of work by a group of six to ten volunteers.

The first group went to Project Angel Food in Hollywood. Its staff and volunteers prepare and deliver 1600 meals a day to home-bound clients with cancer, HIV-AIDS and other serious, life-threatening conditions that prevent them from providing their own meals.

At the Country Villa Rehabilitation Center, volunteers were invited to walk down the halls, look in on patients and say “Hi,” sometimes reading the newspaper to them or listening to their stories.

Volunteers helped with taking down Christmas decorations and preparing the noon meal at the Los Angeles Mission, while at St. Francis Center, volunteers wrapped Christmas presents for belated giving, and at Los Angeles Pregnancy Services, they folded baby clothes to prepare donations for new mothers.

When they returned to the school, Br. Chris Patino had prepared Mass with Fr. Ted Ley of Chaminade High School as celebrant. The Communion meditation was a slide show of the morning’s volunteer activities as recorded by Mr. Abel Gutierrez.

Text by Nancy Price
Photos by Abel Gutierrez