By Tim Pisacich ‘13 M.Div.

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head” (MT 8:20).

I feel like I could identify with the life of a wandering preacher. My graduations from high school and college were followed by a year as a Jesuit Volunteer, two years of teaching, and three years in graduate school before I settled into a job and community in South Bend, Indiana. These transitory years involved seven moves and numerous field placements and jobs. In the midst of so much transition, sometimes I feel like I am wandering.

On a deeper level, I’ve become aware of internal expectations I have placed on myself to do and be more, which breed an impulse for wandering. “Should” is usually included in these internal expectations: I should own a house like my friends do; I should be married with kids; I should work like my colleagues.

This past Advent and Christmas, I began showing up at the local Catholic Worker community to participate in the works of mercy. The new relationships I’ve developed with both guests and staff have healed my inward expectations.

At the drop-in center, more than 100 guests find coffee, breakfast, laundry, and a hot shower every weekend morning. Guests who wait outside in below-freezing temperatures for the center to open its doors impress me with their decision to greet me warmly. Staff members show grace and patience in the midst of conflicts that can escalate quickly. The works of mercy are not magic, but they offer kinship among people who are in need—and we’re all in need.

Since I began showing up at the Catholic Worker, I’ve spent less time thinking about myself and what I lack. I’ve learned to listen better and become more patient. I’ve received the gift of new friendships.

Throughout the last decade of my life, transitions were so regular in my life that I became tempted to treat my friends as transitory figures. I would distance myself from them before the unpreventable graduation, which sent us our separate ways. Even now, as I settle into a job and community here in South Bend, unexpected transitions or loss can strike at any time.

As a wandering preacher, Jesus did not avoid the joys and challenges in the relationships he had with his followers. He did not travel alone—he traveled with his friends. He felt Peter’s denial, Judas’ betrayal, Thomas’ doubt, as well as the presence and love of his beloved disciple and mother at the cross. He did not run from the pain of conflict of love but maintained these relationships even through and after disappointment.

The works of mercy at the Catholic Worker have made me less anxious to run off to a new place. They have allowed me to enter into deeper relationship with my family, friends, and colleagues. They have helped me stay in my work and my current state of life with more peace and confidence that God’s grace continues to show up.

While I have not made a significant external transition in the last four and a half years, life is new.

Tim Pisacich is assistant director of human, communal, and spiritual formation with Echo, a master’s degree program in the McGrath Institute for Church Life that prepares students for catechetical ministry in the Church.