PLAIN — On July 26, on the feast of Sts. Anne and Joachim, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison joined the Love Begins Here (LBH) group of about 95 high school students from around the diocese.
They were serving as missionaries in the community of Plain that week and helping people in need with home, yard, or gardening projects.
This was the last group of high school students for the summer 2022 LBH program sponsored by the diocese, and they spent the whole week in service to the community of Plain and the surrounding area.
Since the feast of St. Anne fell on their week of being in Plain, the participants, LBH staff, and chaperones, as well as members of the community were invited to attend an evening Mass at St. Luke Church with Bishop Hying celebrating followed by a pilgrimage to the St. Anne Chapel located on a hill behind the church.
Bishop Hying led the pilgrimage and led the praying of the Rosary once the group reached the chapel.
It was a memorable event for the student missionaries and for others able to attend.
After concluding with the Rosary atop the beautiful, scenic hill where the chapel stands, Bishop Hying said, “this day will long remain in my memory, as will the wonderful people I’ve met.”
During his homily and in at least one of his recent “Moment with the Bishop” videos, he thanked and gave a big shout-out of recognition to the youth missionaries who served the diocese in the LBH program not only this summer but for the past 13 years.
Tribute to ancestors and legacy of the saints
During the Mass, the bishop began his homily kidding that he’d like to put wheels on the church (St. Luke) and wheel it to Madison for a cathedral church, indirectly complimenting the parish on the beauty and cathedral-style of its church.
But, he added, that wouldn’t go over well, “since the church here is the foundation of your community.”
“Built in the depths of the depression,” he continued, “many generations have worshiped in this beautiful house of God.”
On the feast of Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ grandparents and parents of the Virgin Mary, “it is a good time to ponder who has gone before us and to recognize the holy and innovative things they accomplished.”
It is the legacy of the saints, doing things for the people of their time, but also for those who came after, he said.
Bishop Hying pointed out the connection of those ancestors who sacrificed to leave such a majestic legacy for future generations and gave a big thank you to the young people who served the community through LBH in Plain that week. The spirit of faith lives on in these student-missionaries, he added.
The bishop said he was happy to work side by side with these youth earlier that day, and in doing so “I got dirty and had mud under my nails from digging in the soil and got sweaty from lifting hay bales,” but, he added, “it reminded me how satisfying it is to engage in physical labor to get a job done.”
After the pilgrimage, everyone was invited to attend a dinner in the school gym.
Serving others
Some of the students explained projects they worked on so far while in Plain.
Grace Vander Sanden and Rosie Schulte from Columbus washed windows for a family in need.
Allie Hendrickson and Abby Vanden Branden from Beloit worked on cleaning the St. Anne Shrine to get it ready for the pilgrimage and prayer in the evening. They polished the pews and washed the floors of the chapel and even removed a dead mouse.
For more information on the kinds of projects the LBH groups have done in the past and for comments that missionaries have made about their service work, go to Love Begins Here at madisondiocese.org/lovebeginshere
One comment, for example, sums the program up well.
It says, “Love Begins Here means that, through supporting our neighbors, we are connecting to God. By seeing God in our neighbors, we are inviting him into our lives. It is all about finding joy in our service, focusing less on ourselves and more on our neighbor and God” — by Jonathan, a first-year missionary.
Lead missionary Rob Hendrickson (father of Allie) from Beloit commented that at the end of each day of the mission trip, “the students get together in groups and talk about where they saw God in others that day. It is a powerful affirmation of faith for everyone.”
He added that he has been going on the trips for several years and enjoys it more than a vacation. He takes off work to go and his coworkers tease him.
According to the LBH website, from 2009 through 2021, Love Begins Here has given over 130,000 hours of service to those in need — materially and spiritually — in the Diocese of Madison. That comes out to 5,400 entire days.
There are four high school groups and two middle school groups who go to various parishes each summer.
The program grew from 56 missionaries in 2009, when the program started, to over 600 participants in 2021.
Lindsay Finn has been the director since the founding of the program.