[Celebrating the 1st Annual Responding to God’s Blessings Month, the following message was delivered by Janice Keating at all Masses on Sunday, May 8th, 2011]
Good morning. My name is Janice Keating and I am a member of St. Joseph’s parish and have been since 1978. I am not here to ask anything from you but instead, I am here to talk about the blessings you help bestow on others.
During the month of May we will reflect on the many ways God has blessed us, our families and how we, individually and as a parish, have blessed others. Through your generosity in our offertory, through your prayers each week at Mass, you are a part of these blessings. The stories I am about to share are all true and I hope they will remind you to be grateful and to appreciate the blessings in your life and in the St. Joseph’s family.
Have you even wondered what thoughts are going through the mind of someone who is standing in a line, to get one grocery bag of food? Our St. Vincent de Paul Ministry volunteers, which have grown to over 20 strong from the early days of only 2, have so many stories to share and are always humbled and blessed by those they help. Recently, a woman struggling to pay for her medicine came to stand in line for her bag of food. She was uncomfortable at having to do this and was gracious and thankful when she received her food. 15 minutes later, she came back and said that she had been sitting in her car, thinking about how she could thank the volunteers. She said, “I just want to tell you that I feel better when I leave here than I do when I leave the doctor’s office, because all of you help me remember that if I believe in God, I will be okay. Thank you and thank your church”. The common word our volunteers continually use when describing the blessings they receive when giving back is “humbled”. It is humbling to be thanked so profusely and sincerely by those who have so little.
Again, I am not here to ask for anything of you…
Each week, our Eucharistic Ministers to the Homebound take communion to well over 75 people. The gift of the body of Christ, easily available to those of us today who came prepared at Mass, is a blessing that is taken to those who are no longer able to get to Mass. One woman, homebound in her 80’s with no Catholic relatives nearby, thanks her St. Joseph’s volunteer with the same words each week: “Bless you for coming. You don’t know how much it means to me that you come every week. I always went to Mass every week when I was younger”. Some homebound prepare a special “altar” on their living room table. A group of 10 seniors no longer able to drive, pray the rosary together each week while they wait for their St. Joseph’s Minister who brings them their communion.
Both of these stories demonstrate the two different ways we “feed” people in our parish and our greater community, literally and spiritually. Each and every one of you has helped in this, and in so many other ways that I don’t have time to mention, and you should feel blessed because of it.
Did you know our English as Second Language teachers provide free classes at St. Joseph’s to 20-40 students each week? Even our own Fr. Carlos Vega has been taking advantage of our classes! One student, in her hesitant English, said this class had given her the confidence to apply for a job and actually speak English during her interview. Another student asked us to pray for his success because he was about to give a presentation in English to his district managers. He is thankful to us for giving him the confidence to take the opportunity to improve his professional life and I am here to pass that on to all of you.
The students routinely express their gratitude for making it possible for them to learn English and assimilate more successfully into our American and Parish culture. It is humbling that these men and women working so hard to learn English are, at the same time, involved in so many other Parish Ministries. They have so much to offer and in turn we are blessed by what our Parish contributes to their lives, and with God’s grace, their success.
These examples just scratch the surface of all that we do as a Parish community. Remember, I am not asking for anything, instead, I urge you to look in your bulletin and read the information about the free Parish breakfast on Saturday May 21st – the Leadership Committees of our Parish look forward to being your hosts and personally thanking all of you for the blessings you selflessly provide.
I leave you with this thought, even if you are not able to physically participate in outreach through volunteerism, you most certainly are a participant through our offertory in making it possible for the less fortunate to receive what they need by “Returning God’s Blessings”. Remember that, when you wrap your gift each week.
We are a dynamic Catholic community serving the needy with love and compassion. We provide hope and spiritual encouragement to thousands upon thousands and THAT is something for all of us to celebrate. I hope to see all of you at free parish breakfast in 2 weeks!
Good morning. My name is Janice Keating and I am a member of St. Joseph’s parish and have been since 1978. I am not here to ask anything from you but instead, I am here to talk about the blessings you help bestow on others.
During the month of May we will reflect on the many ways God has blessed us, our families and how we, individually and as a parish, have blessed others. Through your generosity in our offertory, through your prayers each week at Mass, you are a part of these blessings. The stories I am about to share are all true and I hope they will remind you to be grateful and to appreciate the blessings in your life and in the St. Joseph’s family.
Have you even wondered what thoughts are going through the mind of someone who is standing in a line, to get one grocery bag of food? Our St. Vincent de Paul Ministry volunteers, which have grown to over 20 strong from the early days of only 2, have so many stories to share and are always humbled and blessed by those they help. Recently, a woman struggling to pay for her medicine came to stand in line for her bag of food. She was uncomfortable at having to do this and was gracious and thankful when she received her food. 15 minutes later, she came back and said that she had been sitting in her car, thinking about how she could thank the volunteers. She said, “I just want to tell you that I feel better when I leave here than I do when I leave the doctor’s office, because all of you help me remember that if I believe in God, I will be okay. Thank you and thank your church”. The common word our volunteers continually use when describing the blessings they receive when giving back is “humbled”. It is humbling to be thanked so profusely and sincerely by those who have so little.
Again, I am not here to ask for anything of you…
Each week, our Eucharistic Ministers to the Homebound take communion to well over 75 people. The gift of the body of Christ, easily available to those of us today who came prepared at Mass, is a blessing that is taken to those who are no longer able to get to Mass. One woman, homebound in her 80’s with no Catholic relatives nearby, thanks her St. Joseph’s volunteer with the same words each week: “Bless you for coming. You don’t know how much it means to me that you come every week. I always went to Mass every week when I was younger”. Some homebound prepare a special “altar” on their living room table. A group of 10 seniors no longer able to drive, pray the rosary together each week while they wait for their St. Joseph’s Minister who brings them their communion.
Both of these stories demonstrate the two different ways we “feed” people in our parish and our greater community, literally and spiritually. Each and every one of you has helped in this, and in so many other ways that I don’t have time to mention, and you should feel blessed because of it.
Did you know our English as Second Language teachers provide free classes at St. Joseph’s to 20-40 students each week? Even our own Fr. Carlos Vega has been taking advantage of our classes! One student, in her hesitant English, said this class had given her the confidence to apply for a job and actually speak English during her interview. Another student asked us to pray for his success because he was about to give a presentation in English to his district managers. He is thankful to us for giving him the confidence to take the opportunity to improve his professional life and I am here to pass that on to all of you.
The students routinely express their gratitude for making it possible for them to learn English and assimilate more successfully into our American and Parish culture. It is humbling that these men and women working so hard to learn English are, at the same time, involved in so many other Parish Ministries. They have so much to offer and in turn we are blessed by what our Parish contributes to their lives, and with God’s grace, their success.
These examples just scratch the surface of all that we do as a Parish community. Remember, I am not asking for anything, instead, I urge you to look in your bulletin and read the information about the free Parish breakfast on Saturday May 21st – the Leadership Committees of our Parish look forward to being your hosts and personally thanking all of you for the blessings you selflessly provide.
I leave you with this thought, even if you are not able to physically participate in outreach through volunteerism, you most certainly are a participant through our offertory in making it possible for the less fortunate to receive what they need by “Returning God’s Blessings”. Remember that, when you wrap your gift each week.
We are a dynamic Catholic community serving the needy with love and compassion. We provide hope and spiritual encouragement to thousands upon thousands and THAT is something for all of us to celebrate. I hope to see all of you at free parish breakfast in 2 weeks!
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