By Fr. Justin Fulton
“Soon, if you look at the leaves they will teach us how beautiful it can be to let go and allow yourself to change.”
I love the fall. Harvest. Playoff baseball. Football. Marching bands. Parades. The weather. The crisp cool. Cattle auctions. The leaves. Fall is a beautiful time of year. It is the year’s last, most beautiful chance to smile.
The fall reminds us of the glories of spring and summer. And it prepares us for the death, dark, and cold of winter. It is a time to reflect, celebrate, pray and be grateful. It is also a chance for us to change.
We should never be afraid to change. In fact, the Greek term ‘metanoia’ (to convert) means to change constantly—to turn away from the evil of Satan and to constantly turn toward the good of God. Repentance from sin requires a fundamental change of heart. It is a requirement for the life of a Catholic Christian. Change and repentance is tough work—and we must be open to God’s grace to repent. 
There have been many changes we have all undergone these past months. But the fact of the matter remains that our mission at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska has not changed. We have had to be open, agile, thoughtful, creative, and hard-working to continue to deliver our services during the COVID pandemic. Our volunteers, donors, and employees have been resilient. We have come up with new ways to continue to feed the hungry, shelter the endangered, deliver food to the homebound and homeless, and counsel the depressed.
Recently, the Knights of Columbus at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Lincoln partnered with us and changed up their normal way of collecting food for our food pantry to help out the hungry. Using their God-given creativity and intellect, the Knights and the parish families of Blessed Sacrament found a way to safely collect 881 pounds of food to be shared with the hungry, unemployed, and underemployed of southern Nebraska. They had to find a way to collect food safely. We also disinfected the containers of food to guarantee safe handling and safe delivery of the food for the neighbors the food will help out. This was a team effort that allowed Christ to feed His people through our services.
Christ reaches His people through our actions and our words. And Christ encourages us to use our intellect to allow ourselves to change so we can continue helping people during these fall months and into the winter. The poor will be here... and there may very well be more poor people needing help in the next months. If your parish, neighborhood group, business, friend group, or school would like to help feed the hungry by hosting a food drive please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Jeremy Sousek at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We would be honored if you partnered with us to continue to bring Hope in the Good Life!
Thank you for your faith in Jesus Christ. And thank you for your prayers and support of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska!
