I never could have imagined I would end up here today. And yet I could never imagine it any other way. Were it entirely up to me, I don’t think I would have done a year of service. God had other plans for me. It certainly is because of my faith that I ended up at FVM. What does that faith look like to take a computer engineer and plant them in a soup kitchen? My faith forces me to look at the brokenness of the world. My faith looks upon the poor and downtrodden with eyes of mercy, and causes me to cry out to God for their sake. My faith looks at the empty promises of wealth, pleasure, and power, and sees them just as that: empty promises. My faith leaves me wondering if what the world has to offer is all there is. My faith makes me feel discontent and dissatisfied with my own pursuits. In my faith is where God works. God took my discomfort in the state of the world and the emptiness that I felt to show me that my plan was not the best plan. My plan was not His plan, and my ways are not His ways. So, God tugged at my heart and as a loving father gently guided my gaze to match His. That gaze fell upon St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia. Now that I’ve made it here, I could not see myself doing anything else. It was no happy accident that led me here. God called me to service with FVM, this I am sure. Faith is still the foundation upon which my ministry is built upon. Faith is the reason why I serve. On those days when it’s difficult to get up, when people seem difficult to love, my faith brings me back. While I serve, I still try to listen to God’s voice to know what’s next for me. I still seek those gentle nudges along the way to know God’s plan for me. 

In the Easter season, we are especially reminded of how in the greatest darkness God brings forth the greatest joys. We recognize that no evil is too great for God to transform into an even greater good. We must remain attentive to see what good God is trying to bring out of the evil we see. We continue to have faith that we can be creators of great good if we allow God to work through us. Once we trust in God and His plan for us, we can become the people He created us to be.

“We are an Easter people and Hallelujah is our song” – Pope St. John Paul II

David Hojnowski, FVM Philadelphia 2020-2021