by Fr. Justin Fulton
Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!
Peace be with you.
This will be my last time writing the Messages of Hope column. For it, I would like to share
the first column I wrote back in 2019.
I do that because even though I am not at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska anymore, the reason for CSS’s existence remains the same: bring people the joy of Christ, and in turn, receive the joy of Christ.
CSS is about you… the People of God. It is about the poor. The destitute. Those who need help. Those who need a smile.
Our executive director, Katie Patrick, and all of her wonderful team have elevated CSS’ outreach throughout the 24,000 square miles of our diocese. They are talented, diligent, dedicated, sacrificial and loving people. They are Christ’s hands and heart in our Diocese, and we should all be proud of them. I know I am.
May we always remember that our calling as apostles of Christ is to think less of ourselves and more of others. May we worship Christ at our altars and with our lives, and may we serve Him in His poor.
Thank you for your support and prayers for Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska!
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Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!
This is a picture of my niece Cecilia hugging the living blazes out of her teddy bear. 
It makes me smile.
I share it hoping it makes you smile as well.
We need more smiling in this world.
Greetings! My name is Father Justin Fulton. I am excited, happy, and humbled to have been named the new Executive Director of Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska. I am looking forward to working with you—all of you in this Diocese of Lincoln from Venango to Verdon and all points in between—in Christ’s mission to serve the poor and the vulnerable. At Catholic Social Services we like to say that we do not serve just Catholics—we serve everyone because we are Catholic. All of us have a duty to serve the poor and we all know that this world is a better place when more people smile.
At Catholic Social Services, we exist to bring smiles to people’s faces. Our employees, volunteers, financial donors, and spiritual warriors help bring warmth and the Light of Christ’s Love to people who have been down, depressed, forgotten about, sad, hungry, and hurt. When we serve them we bring more love—and thus God, who is Love—into the world and they smile. There is nothing more satisfying than witnessing our volunteers and employees bringing smiles to the people that we serve.
When I see this picture of my niece Cecilia I cannot help but think that every human person has had a smile like hers. And it saddens me that some lose theirs as they grow up. Whether they are sad and depressed because of financial difficulties, a loss of a job or loved one, health concerns, difficulties with payments and not having food, clothing, or shelter, whatever it might be—CSS is there to help many of these people. We are here because God wants us to be here. And we seek to simply have Him and His Will be done through us.
Thank you for your prayers, sacrifices, contributions, and—most importantly—thank you for your faith in Jesus Christ. May we all work together united in His Body to bring more smiles and more of His joy into Southern Nebraska!
