EXPERIENCING THE POOR THROUGH SERVICE LEARNING

Richard J. Devine, C.M.^1_
Professor of Theology and Faculty Director of Service Learning
St. John’s University

From Leo XIII in the last decades of the 19th century to our present Holy Father, John Paul II, the Church has been calling Catholics to a greater awareness of our responsibility on behalf of the poor and those most vulnerable in our society in a body of literature called Catholic Social Teaching. Admittedly, the Church's social teaching is much broader than a call to care for the poor. It also includes teaching and reflection on the rights of workers, the dignity of work and the advancement of developing countries. But the call that sounds loudest in my ears is the summons to come to the assistance of the poor--to recognize their dignity, to work for their social advancement, to assist them to share more generously in the material blessings of our world.

Perhaps this resonated so strongly for me because of my Vincentian vocation. No one can get close to the spirit of Vincent de Paul without coming away struck by his commitment to work for the poor. The foundlings, the galley slaves, the sick, the victims of war and violence, the mentally disturbed--they all cried out to him for help, for compassion, for loving care. Vincent gave them a lifetime of service and, even more importantly, he organized the society of his time– 17^th century France--to respond to their pleas for help. The Confraternity of Charity, the Priests of the Mission, the Ladies of Charity and the Daughters of Charity--they were Vincent’s hands, his mind and his heart reaching out to relieve the suffering of the poor.

I came to St. John's in 1966 and for 30 years I struggled to find a way to imitate Vincent in a university ministry. How could I mobilize the tremendous resources of a great University on behalf of the poor? More importantly, how could I lead my students to a greater awareness of the poor? How could I offer them the chance to roll up their sleeves and pitch in on behalf of the poor? I told myself that I would raise their consciousness of the plight of the poor, but I never saw it really happen.

Then in 1996 Service-Learning came to St. John's. It is, first of all, an academic undertaking, and so it is at home in the university setting. Its goals are tied to particular courses--a course in accounting, in early childhood education, in theology, in photography. It always begins with a faculty member who is challenged to marry one or more course objectives to some bona fide community need. But first and foremost, the experience has to be related to a course, has to be "a learning." At the same time, it is a response to some community need. It is a reaching out to some group in the community who are truly, genuinely in need.

Here are the poor--today's poor. I am challenged to lead my students to care about them, to care for them, to make them "their" poor. So today, my students accompany the dying, work with challenged children, assist the elderly in a nursing home--surely three of the most vulnerable groups in our society. None of it is earth-shaking. They sit with the dying; they read to the old folks; they teach the children to count. But the students come to care for the poor. The poor become "their" poor.

In every case the student experiences some aspect of the medical ethics course they are taking with me. In every case it is an academic project. But the students are also experiencing the poor. They are experiencing compassion and caring that hopefully will be with them long after they leave St. John's.

All of us have known the Church's social teaching for as long as we can remember, but the ability to integrate it into our lives, to do something about it has escaped so many Catholics-- at least it has me. After all, what can I do about the rights of workers; how can I do anything to reverse nuclear proliferation; what possibility is there for me to make a difference about the right of all people to guaranteed health care? But the poor, now that's different. Service-Learning allows me to enlist my students' hands and hearts on behalf of the poor.

What have I learned? I can make a difference. Each of us can make a difference! Through Service-Learning we can guide our students in bona fide academic experiences that also touch their hearts on behalf of the poor. I hate to admit it to myself, but my students will forget much of what I teach them in a painfully short time after they leave my class. All the research convinces me of that. But they will never forget the delight on the face of the child with muscular dystrophy, the whispered "thank you" of an octogenarian at the Ozanam nursing home, the "God bless you" of the cancer patient in St. Joseph's Hospital for whom they poured a glass of water. Service-Learning makes it possible for each of us, for all of us to integrate the Church's social teaching into our professional lives. It is no longer simply a matter of theoretical principles; neither is it just moral values that we affirm in some speculative way. Vincent's way can be our way. "Let us love God," he said, "but let it be with the strength of our arms and the sweat of our brow."

^{1 _}Richard J. Devine, C.M. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John’s University and the Faculty Director of the Service Learning Program, which strives to fulfill the University’s mission of providing students with opportunities to engage in service to others and reflect on that service within an academic course. He served as Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences from 1966-68, Dean of St. John’s College from 1968-75 and Vice President of the University for Student Affairs from 1975-83. Father Devine is the author of Good Care: Painful Choices, and co-author of Dorothy Day: Le Mouvement Catolique Ouvrier aux Etats-Unis. A member of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the Society for Scientific Study of Religion, he has published numerous articles and has participated in various programs in parish communities, seminaries and professional groups. He holds a S.T.D. in Theology from the University of Fribourg and is a recipient of an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy degree from Niagara University.

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