Pierogi pilgrims of hope
The community-loving grasshoppers of Duquesne University and a Pittsburgh church
By Jennifer Szweda Jordan
“I’m not going to work today since you’re here,” I told two fraternity brothers sitting next to me on a pierogi assembly line. “I’m just going to impart wisdom.”
“That’s great,” Landon Orloski said, without a hint of sarcasm. “That’s why we’re here.” The other shook his head in agreement. They were here so us older folks didn’t need to work so hard. They’re part of Duquesne University’s philanthropic fraternity Gamma Phi. And they knew that being with us would involve hearing the stories of us elders at Mary Queen of Peace parish. There were about 20 college-ish students here among about ten of us over 50.
“What would you like to know, grasshoppers?,” I asked them, as if I was a Kung Fu master.
“What’s the purpose of life?,” one asked. The question wasn’t flip. These young men seem to have a depth I didn’t at their age. Maybe because critical years of their development were upended by pandemic isolation. And even before that, their youth was marked by an increase of societal loneliness.
Since we were in a church space, I gave them an answer from longstanding Catholic teaching: “To know, love, and serve God.” They were already serving the good of the community so they got that. But I really wanted them to get the part about receiving love and being loving. They seemed to have a sense of that, too, in their care for each other as a fraternity. I was challenging them to go deeper in the “know and love” part. Because there have been or will be points in their lives where they may feel very alone, and not have the support they do this day–when they’ll move to a new city, or experience a health issue that makes it difficult to keep up with their peers. I told them how important it is to be open to God’s love and grace, and to explore all the practices there are to connect with that grace. I recommended reading up on the incredible stories of saints’ lives. Turns out both were Protestant so saint study isn’t a thing–I recommended they perhaps study instead the late Mr. Rogers.
Then I turned the questions to them. One may do better to educate the grasshopper if one listens to the grasshopper. And I’d brought a little microphone to record what they had to say for this Substack.
“What gives you hope?,” I asked about a dozen people, including three elder parishioners.
The number one answer: community. Family. Classmates. Friends. Church mates. And all said a strong community was what we were experiencing that day. It felt like a little slice of heaven to talk deeply and laugh, make pierogis and eat pizza.
In addition to the pandemic, these young people and us older folks have, are, and will go through a lot. You, my fellow pilgrim grasshopper, just might get some hope, love, grace, and prayer tips from hearing their own words.
The first video below is Aiden Murphy, the next is Mary Pakutinskas, and last but not least, Jeana Talerico.