July 2020 | III

CHOOSING THE OPTIONS OF JESUS IN THE TIME OF COVID-19

Mark Leosala is a member of Nuevo CLC and works with the CLC Center Team as the FI Coordinator. He is a devoted father to Josiah, Anthony (deceased), Miriam, Daniel, Inigo, and Luis, and a loving husband to Grace.

Since the declaration of the enhanced community quarantine in the entire Luzon, Mark has actively provided assistance to street dwellers, ambulant vendors, garbage collectors, security guards, and other street front liners in their area in Sta. Mesa, Manila by providing home-cooked meals for them every day. He also makes it a point to spend a few moments with them in kumustahan and light conversations. All meals are prepared, cooked, packed, and delivered to them by Mark himself. According to him, this is his simple way of reaching out to those in the peripheries, the people who are most neglected and forgotten in this time of the pandemic. Below are some pictures of this initiative by Mark of Nuevo CLC.

When asked about why he chose to give food to the street dwellers, garbage collectors, wandering beggars, street vendors, and children of informal settlers, Mark said that he was moved with compassion for them. Furthermore, he says, "Sitting with them, sharing stories with some of them even for a short while amidst the physical distancing protocol, I felt that at that moment I chose the option of Jesus. I saw Jesus in the face of each and every one of them. I encountered Jesus in the beggar. I smelled Jesus in the street dweller who has not taken a bath for several days. This ministry of taking care of those in the margins has reminded me that Jesus set out to liberate people from every form of suffering and anguish-present and future. Jesus invites me to do the same in my limited capacity as a CLC member and as his disciple."

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Read more Kwentong CLC

July 2020 | II : Thanksgiving in the Time of Coronavirus

June 2020 | I : Living Our CLC Way of Life in the Time of Pandemic