In addition to hosting Ms. Maggie Parks from Louisiana as a Worker-Scholar back in June, Mr. Rico Havana from the Kansas City area spent his July at the John Paul II Catholic Worker Farm in Kansas City, Missouri, as a Worker-Scholar in residence. The JPII farm provided a place to stay at the Maurin House, right across from the farm’s orchard and field, as well as help learning the daily routines and growing principles. The JPII Farm and the Maurin Academy welcome inquiries about staying at the Maurin House for a week or longer. If you would like more information, start here.
The Maurin Academy was happy to provide Rico with some financial support while he lived and worked on the farm, getting in touch with nature, animals and friends. Above are some of Rico’s photos of the farm, and below are some of his observations. Thank you, Rico, for your much-needed help on the JPII Catholic Worker urban farm!
“Feeding and giving water to the animals – sheep, goats, quails, chickens and the shepherd dog was daily maintenance. About a week in, I started feeling a certain love for the animals, and it was not about maintenance anymore. Watching them come up to me every morning, with their chirps and groans, patiently waiting until I gave them their food touched my heart. Sometimes I would give them a little more than the recommended portion because I was concerned each animal did not get enough of their fill. Particularly, the younger chickens who would get pushed aside by the older chickens and the mammals getting in some of the chicken feed. Yet, there is plenty of food, more than enough for every animal. It made me think about us as people who, like the animals, feed from the hand of God but act as if we deserve the most fill. This world that God has created has more than enough food and water for everyone. However, we hear about famines and water shortages. There are people who act like chickens.”
“Farm work is dirty work. There’s mud, poop, and all things you would not want to be sitting on when relaxing at home. But through this process there is a natural beauty – high quality eggs from chickens that are not abused (which taste really good too!), produce from land that naturally desires to produce it rather than being forced to, and all other beautiful things. We, ourselves, come from dust but by the breath of God we are made with the qualities of God to do wonderful things. So it is also true regarding our infirmities, sins, and the hardships we go through that we, through God’s grace, can produce beauty.”
“I come in every morning smoking a Padron cigar. They are ugly cigars, but they are delicious. But what makes them special is not how they are rolled, it’s part of it, but how the leaves are cured, aged, and undergo a process of fermentation – enduring high temperatures until they are ready with the flavors they are destined to evoke. The highest part of a tobacco plant, the one exposed to the most sun are the smallest, yet most flavorful, but they still have to undergo fermentation to be ready in a cigar. I think the same of the saints.”
“Having lived a life where I was comfortable and satisfied and experiencing how quickly all of it can be taken away humbles you. It also makes you realize how fragile, temporary, and in a way, meaningless most of the things we aspire to acquire or accomplish are. I’m not a philosopher, but I have read a book from Albert Camus and I’m not saying life is pointless. But when one bases their happiness or sanity on a temporary thing, it’s easy to become dysfunctional when it is taken away.”