The Permanence

Kim Luisi, author of the blog Faith, Fiction and Flannery, is visiting Maryhouse, a Catholic Worker community on NYC's Lower East Side.

So far, she has done three fine posts on her time there.

Here's a bit of Tuesday's report:

... Washing dishes for a large group of people can allow some time for reflection and meditation. As I cleaned, the beauty of the moment became clear. These women who are often considered throw-aways are treated to a dignity that they themselves may not realize they need. They are fed not with paper plates and plastic cutlery, in other words throw-away stuff, but instead with the permanence of real dinnerware. After every meal, the dignity of each diner is compounded when a person volunteers to wash the dishes of the marginalized. ...

I paid my own first visit to Maryhouse a few months ago for one of their regular Friday evening discussions. (It's an easy walk from my pad in Little Italy.) The topic that wintery night was the painter Georges Rouault.

It's a good place.