The Christian Virtue of Generosity! By way of explanation, according to your directed donations, the monies raised in the 2010 Advent Giving Tree Project are being distributed to the three charities listed on the donation envelopes (Sacred Heart Parish in Hartford, Saint Joseph Cathedral’s Food Panty, and our local senior citizens/families in need through Angel Food Ministries). More than $30,185.00 was raised this year, and many of you selected the charity to which you wanted your donations to go. The end result, which is amazing by itself, is as follows: some $11,296.78 went to Sacred Heart Parish families for food and other essential expenses, as well as some 150 gifts collected for the children’s Epiphany Party; to Saint Joseph Cathedral’s Food Panty, a check for $8,888.22 has been issued; and, for the Angel Food Ministry which will benefit local seniors and families in need, a check for $10,000.00 has been donated. All this goodwill and Christian love has been given in your name, the good people of Saint Catherine of Siena Parish. My sincere thanks to all who participated in the 2010 successful program and to those who prayed for the ministry’s success! I know that those who are served by your generosity are also very grateful to you—as I hear from many of them about how grateful they are for your kindnesses. May God continue to bless you and your families with His abundant love. Thank you!
More Good Works! As I mentioned last week, our Youth Ministry program is getting ready for its annual Mission Trip to Boston. This is the biggest group of Youth Ministers Saint Catherine of Siena Parish has ever assembled, with 31 youth ministers travelling to help those less fortunate. Their work will include making improvements to classrooms where children are cared for, upgrading shelter living quarters, making sandwiches that they will then distribute to the homeless on Boston Common, and spending time meeting and talking with (ministering to) homeless men, women and children. Their time in Boston is no vacation. They will be living in the basement of a church, sleeping on air mattresses and in sleeping bags. Their days will begin early as they make their way on Boston’s “T” system to their work locations for the day. After painting and cleaning, making and distributing meals, caring for children in shelters, they will then cook their own meals at their church basement “hotel” while they spend time reviewing their day, praying together and attending Mass at a local parish in Boston.
And their work begins long before they arrive in Bean-town. Our youth ministers have already written an essay as to why they want to participate in this Mission Trip and they have discussed their work schedules and committed themselves to the missionary work that Mrs. Pluta has put together. Many people, not just the homeless whom they will minister to, but also the City Mission Society of Boston/Boston Urban Outreach is depending on them to fulfill the needs of the Society which oversees a host of ministerial sites in Boston. The 31 student youth ministers hail from a host of high schools including, Northwest Catholic, Simsbury High, Ethel Walker, Westminster, and Oliver Wolcott Regional Vocational Technical School in Torrington. Accompanying the 31 students are six (6) adult chaperones who are all taking time off from work to make this Mission Trip a reality. I am very appreciative of Holly Brennan, Colette Molnar, Christine Wall, Bill Carew, Paula Teed, Judy Pluta, and driver Manuela Hanshaw for giving of their time to make this event happen.
A modern take on the “Apostolic Tradition”: this year’s 31 youth ministers comprises six (6) sets of siblings. This is interesting in that in their written essays mentioned that the younger siblings said they wanted to be part of the Youth Mission Trip because of what they heard their older siblings say about the great experience they had the year before. This is reminiscent of the early disciples of Christ who were attracted to Him because of what they saw accomplished by the first apostles. We certainly learn from others! It is powerful to see how this desire to be a Christian disciple came about by what was witnessed in a family setting. One can see the wisdom in the late Pope John Paul II’s declaration of the family as the “domestic Church.”
Not just for youth ministers…this mission trip is truly a parish-wide event. First and foremost, our youth have learned from all of you about what it means to be committed to Christ and His mission and ministry through our Catholic Church. They have seen it first hand in they way you all have given of your time, talent and treasure to help local neighbors in need through the leaf raking event, through Comitas and the Lazarus Committee, in the Giving Tree Project, in the Parish Shawl Ministry, through Angel Food Ministry, and by way of many more parish ministries. You are their role models. Just like the first disciples and apostles, we all learn by imitating others involved in Christ’s mission. This weekend, we will have a few different opportunities to join our youth ministers and make this year’s Mission Trip another great success.
How you can help: First, at all the Masses this weekend we will have a second collection to help raise money for the Mission Trip. Your voluntary generosity is a great sign of encouragement and support for our younger Catholics. Second, the youth ministers are holding a silent auction from Saturday until Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. You will be able to bid on services—from housekeeping and yard work, from babysitting and airport chauffeuring to meals cooked, grocery shopping and more—to enable our youth ministers to earn money, not just to give them a hand-out. The silent auction will take place in the atrium all weekend long and the bids will close on Tuesday, February 1 at 9 a.m. I encourage all of us to get behind the charitable works of our youth. Finally, in the coming weeks our Youth Group will place collection receptacles in the atrium and vestibule of the Church to collect socks for the homeless. Many of the homeless have asked for warm socks and they thought it would be nice to collect them and hand them out on the Boston Common. It is a small act of kindness but one that is greatly appreciated.
And while I am asking…if anyone would like to volun-teer…we are in need of one more driver to help either deliver or pick up the luggage to our location in Boston. This driver would not be expected to stay during the Mission Trip but rather help in the shuttling of supplies to and from Boston. If you are interested and willing to do so, please contact Judy Pluta, Youth Minister, at 860.408.9888. Thank you!
