As I write this we are in the last few days of Advent (December 22) and the church is being readied for the Feast of the Incarnation of Christ…down goes the purple, the wreaths, and the sparse look of this penitential season and in its place, gold, silver, green and red; nativity scenes, angels, and the sweet smell of evergreen…all to highlight the fullness that eternal life now offers us since Christ has entered into our lives. In this great feast, we celebrate the coming together of humanity and divinity, in the Savior of the world. I thank all the la-dies and gents who worked so hard to make Saint Catherine of Siena Church look so beautiful for the celebration of the liturgies. It is a great deal of work and I am very appreciative of all their time and efforts and talents.
As we look around us and see the beauty of the natural world—all covered in crisp white snow- we must also see the beauty of Christ in the love of His people. I hope you saw that beauty in the “painting” I displayed at all the Masses, the mirroring images of Christ in the charity and kindness, in the hope and mightily strong desire which you showed in your giving to help others in need.
For those who were not here last weekend due to the snow storm, I am so very pleased and happy to announce to you that this year’s giving tree program, revamped to target and truly help destitute families, had a goal of $6,000 in order to meet the needs of 30 families, which Father Schnell personally gave to us. This idea, which I told you about only four weeks ago, came from parishioners with very generous hearts and great faith in their fellow worshippers, and was matched more than four-fold by the generosity of all…more than $29, 617.94 was raised to help our sisters and brothers in need right here in Hartford. What can I say—thank you—sounds too weak. I am sure that God’s Radiant Face is shining brightly upon us all. How pleased He must be to see the generosity of so many people here in this community. Without personally knowing those in need, you have responded with hearts of hope and with gifts of joy that will impact and help so many in need. God can only be supremely pleased that His sons and daughters are acting and reacting as members of the same family. Thank you!
And perhaps the greatest gift of all in this project is not just the wondrous outpouring of unconditional love, but rather that so many people participated. The participation was broad and generous. Yes, there were many gifts of $500, and $250 and even $100 and $50, but there were also many, many gifts from children who “robbed” their piggy banks…even a gift card that one received as a present and decided to turn it over to others in need. It was not so much the amount raised that counts, though indeed important, but rather that so many gave no matter the amount. As I look ahead to my own Christmas, I really don’t care what is tagged under the tree for me at home, for I have already been given the best gift of the year. Thank you! (However just to show my connections, last year at the Breakfast with Santa party Santa did ask me what I wanted for Christmas…and I did ask for this parish…he delivered with a wee bit of help.)
