By Katie Patrick
As we approach Thanksgiving, on behalf of our staff and volunteers, I want to express our sincere gratitude for the many blessings that we have received throughout the year. Not only have our donors blessed us with generous and sacrificial contributions, but our clients’ humility, perseverance, and gentleness remind us why it’s all worth it.
At a recent Catholic Charities gathering, Bishop James Ruggieri of Portland, Maine, said to us, “Prayer returns you to the Father’s love and renews the charity within you.”
Refreshing, isn’t it? God invites us into deeper communion with Him, so that first and foremost, we can be filled with His love, followed by the graces required for unconditional love and service to the poor and vulnerable. It isn’t up to you, or me, or any one specific person to meet the needs of our neighbors—it’s God who meets their needs through us. In other words, when you allow God to work through you, powerful encounters can happen.
We recently provided Luke, a 28-year-old with a 5-year-old daughter, with $300 in rent assistance, $150 for Super Saver and $60 in gas vouchers. Here is an excerpt of the thank you he sent us:
“Thank you so much for reaching out and for being able to help me during these hard times. I am truly truly grateful to your organization and to our Lord Jesus Christ as I had complete faith that I would get through these times as long as I did everything in my power to help myself and I am just amazed at the grace of God and his ability to work through others.... I have been praying and praying for days and I truly believe the Lord has protected me my entire life.... I was in a very dark place last Thursday when my electricity was cut off but I chose to have faith in God and to just work as much as I can until I ran out of time. Thank you again and God bless you!”
Luke recognized God working through others, and that is exactly what each of you makes possible. Whether you are an employee, volunteer, donor—you share the knowledge, and the profound responsibility, that we are doing God’s work. For it is only by His love for us, and our love for the Father, that we are equipped to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, and bury the dead in a way that is totally life-giving.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving and gather with family and friends, I encourage you to grow in your prayer life. Invite God to work through you. If time or distractions are a barrier, turn to St. Teresa of Avila and St. Ignatius of Loyola, well known for bringing others into greater intimacy with the Lord, and ask them to pray for you.
“Prayer returns you to the Father’s love and renews the charity within you.”
Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving and joyful Advent season!
