Today marks the end of the Oblates 14 years of ministering at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden, NJ. Fr. Mike McCue, OSFS, and Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS, will continue to live and serve in Camden. The reflection below is an example of how the spirit of St. Francis de Sales is alive in the people of Immaculate Conception. We pray that this spirit remains in the hearts of all who have come to know Salesian Spirituality at the Cathedral.
Karri Yeager: Parishioner at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception - Camden, NJ
“Great occasions for serving God come seldom, but little ones surround us daily.”
— Saint Francis de Sales
I had spent 37 years working as a pharmacist at a large teaching hospital in Camden, NJ. Camden is famous for being one of the poorest and crime-filled cities in America. People asked if I was afraid to go to work and why I didn’t look for a safer job. My answer was always the same because that’s where I felt needed.
Camden is full of good hardworking people but poverty and crime takes its toll. I found joy in helping them. Once a wheelchair-bound woman came to me because she couldn’t get her discharge meds because it was late on a Sunday. She started to cry. I took her hand and told her that we would figure it out. She held my hand and thanked me over and over. Those are the moments I think about late at night.
I still drive 30 minutes to Camden for Mass. Why? Because everything felt different there. It was almost as if I could feel that little spark of God’s love. There seemed to be a gentle kindness in the air. It is a very small congregation, but it was so diverse. I loved it. The church at that time was being served by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.
Who was this St. Francis de Sales and what were these Oblates all about? I Googled them. The more I read, the cooler St. Francis de Sales became. I spent hours reading about him. I felt a connection. I wanted to see God in my everyday life too. I started sprinkling that kindness all around. I let other cars merge into traffic. I carry a bag of essentials with me for the homeless. If someone is short at the store, I step up to help. We even quietly gave the Oblates money to use if someone needed emergency help with rent or groceries. We got anonymous thank you notes that broke my heart.
A friend told me she tries to do one kind thing every day. Now I do that too. It doesn’t matter how small my gesture is, it still counts. The more I helped, the more I started to understand what St. Francis de Sales meant about finding God in the everyday things. I started to feel I was becoming a more settled and peaceful person. I really liked it.
St. Francis de Sales helped me see that spark of God in the ordinary experiences and maybe in myself too.
