Maria Longo

Notes from the Field: My favorite word is "crepuscular," something between light and dark, in a twilight. We as human beings are crepuscular. Our free will sets us at a crossroads while we dwell here within time and space.

Notes from the Field - We are unable to interact with each other as we normally would. I am no longer able to live among the people I serve in the South Bronx. Instead, I must work from my family home in Georgia.

Notes from the Field - When I say that I was "blessed" as a child, what I really should be saying is that I was loved abundantly. Some of the young children from the South Bronx I serve are angry, and they seem to be lacking what I had.

Notes from the Field - I am a firm believer as a lover of art and as a Catholic that all art also holds a certain amount of the transcendentals: truth, goodness and beauty. My sisters and I, under stay-at-home orders, have been exploring the truths found in Disney animation princesses.

Notes from the Field - Before we were forced into social isolation, the idea of vulnerability was a huge topic of discussion for our community at dinner one night. The one thing I have clung to from New York City — aside from the love and service of my students — is my community; namely, my roommates.

Notes from the Field: With school closures, the challenge lies open to me, my fellow missionaries and school staff to support our students however we can. For now, our only means of communications are machines and the virtual world. And prayer.

Notes from the Field: The coronavirus shut down our school and volunteer program. I didn't want to leave this life I had grown accustomed to. Here, I had again become captivated with Christ. I found him in the spiritual and material poverty.

Notes from the Field - I think back to the scriptural image of the blind leading the blind. How can I possibly lead these children when I myself am so broken? I cannot see what the future holds