Something wonderful happened a few weeks ago: one of the cross-beams on our lunch shelter cracked. If you walked onto campus Monday morning March 30th , you would have seen a section of the lunch shelter taped off and a noticeable bend in one of the beams. Now, you might question how such a sight to begin the week could possibly be construed as wonderful, but if you had been there and looked closely, you would have seen it: the mark of the Holy Spirit.

You might not have immediately recognized it, but this cracked beam had the distinct mark of the Spirit upon it. This became apparent over the next several days. What started as a cracked beam grew into something more as we inspected the rest of the shelter. It became apparent that a defect in the original design combined with 16 years of use and termites had brought the life of our shelter to an end. This is where it gets good.

It is always fascinating to see how God reveals himself to us. We publicized the demise of our beloved shelter to parishoners and parents of the school and the Spirit moved. People came together, marshaled resources and called in favors and by the afternoon of Good Friday we had a new shelter. This is not to say it was easy or people did not work hard. Dominic Walsh coordinated efforts and material, Juan Avalos, Mr. Noel Salgado, Mr. Oscar Wence and Mr. Sergio Calderon to name a few brought their own tools, sweat and effort to complete this task. Our own Mr. Mayorga worked overtime three days at no charge to the school to complete the project. In fact, the entire cost of the project to the school was $500.00: the cost of the trash bin. The mark of the Spirit.

There is no doubt that God reveals himself in many ways. Our little incident is a perfect example of how He reveals himself through us. By caring, supporting and sacrificing for each other, we acknowledge the Lord in all of us and create community. Our lunch shelter is a testament to the community of St. Joseph School and Parish.