Joanna Moś rscj, standing

Last year I was missioned to a dining for poor and homeless people in Warsaw. This dining room is located in a convent of Brothers. It is the place where people can come every day between 6 o’clock in the morning and 2 o’clock in the afternoon. There is the possibility to take a shower in the morning and also to have something to eat and have a cup of tea.

At noon, everybody can eat a hot meal. Many people come there in this time. Sometimes, especially in winter, there can be even 100 people.

But giving the meal is not the only way of helping to the poorest. There is also Mass in every Thursday. At that time the dining room changes into a chapel, where the living Christ comes. The homeless take part in the preparation the Eucharist - readings, songs, the altar...) After the Eucharist the chapel becomes the dining room again, and everybody is invited to a meal of coffee and cake, in a very joyful atmosphere.

Once a week three of us workers usually to go to the city, particularly near the railway station of Warsaw. This is a place where homeless come very often. We stand in the corner of the most popular place and give out some food and tea. But the meal is not the most important thing. The most important is meeting people. This is the time when we meet with them in their own ground, not in the institution, the time when we go out to people and can give them care and attention.

Homeless people are very different. There are persons who are on the street because of hard situations in their lives. But there are also persons who feel comfortable on the street – this is their way of living. Most of them are really hurt inside, with a lot of complaints. Very often they are awkward in their lives, and they just can’t function in normal society. I could say that society doesn’t know what to do with their weakness, so they are rejected.

What is most important for me is the individual meeting with each person – to pay attention on him/her, to say a good word, to encourage somebody to engage in an activity, to say thank you for helping me... By seeing goodness in those people I want to help them bring out all the best in themselves, their desire to help other people.

In this work I also learn how to be disinterested, how not to wait for satisfaction. Some people are really demanding. They blame me for their hard life. All of this shows me how deep hurts a person can have.

In the dining room I want to proclaim the Love of Jesus’ Heart, and very often I wonder how I can do this in practice. I know that the atmosphere of love is very important – the atmosphere of love created by respect, cordiality, acceptance of each person. and empathy. I would like to give hope to the people and help them believe that they are loved and very important in God’s eyes. This is my personal experience, and I would like to share this with others, especially with those who need this the most.

My mission gives me a lot of joy and I’m very grateful to God and the Society for the opportunity of being there between people who need a little light of love.

Joanna Moś rscj
Province of Poland