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World & Home Missions Special Collection
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Ash Wednesday,February 17, 2020
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Support the Church in Africa
Our special collection supports the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa. The people of Africa are joyous and faith-filled, but as the Church in Africa grows, the pastoral needs of the people also increase. From the formation of clergy to communications programs that bring the Gospel to remote territories to youth ministries that engage the next generation of disciples, the Church’s needs are wide-ranging. The Solidarity Fund is an opportunity for our parish to stand with the people of Africa to help them build lasting foundations of missionary discipleship.
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Pass on the Joy of FaithVideo (47 sec)
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Strengthening the Church at Home
Our special collection supports the Catholic Home Missions Appeal. Four out of ten dioceses in our country and its territories are considered home mission territories. This appeal helps our brothers and sisters here in the United States who do not have access to basic pastoral services like Mass, the sacraments, and religious education. Through your support, the Catholic Home Missions Appeal helps these mission dioceses form vibrant faith communities and strengthens the Church at home.
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Home Missions AppealVideo (3:19 min)
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St. Josephine Bakhita Pray with Us! Teach Us
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"We Must Be Compassionate"
This week, as we discern our response to the Bishop's appeal in support of World & Home Missions, let us ask the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita whose feast we celebrated on February 8. The Second Collection this weekend, originally slated for Ash Wednesday, was postponed by the Winter Storm 2021. For nine days we were held in the grip of forces beyond our control. As we recover, many continue to struggle with the loss of loved ones, others with catastrophic property damage. The privations we experienced allow us to relate in some small measure to the suffering of this holy woman. Let us follow her toward greater compassion.
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On St. Josephine from the USCCB
St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan in 1869 and enslaved as a child. Eventually she was sold to an Italian diplomat and taken to Italy, where she was later brought to freedom through the help of the Canossian Daughters of Charity. Through their guidance, she learned about God and served him faithfully until her death in 1947. In October 2000, Josephine Bakhita was canonized by Pope John Paul II, at which point he noted that “in St. Josephine Bakhita we find a shining advocate of genuine emancipation. The history of her life inspires not passive acceptance but the firm resolve to work effectively to free girls and women from oppression and violence, and to return them to their dignity in the full exercise of their rights” (Canonization Mass, October 1, 2000).
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A Model of Forgiveness
"If I were to meet the slave-traders who kidnapped me and even those who tortured me, I would kneel and kiss their hands, for if that did not happen, I would not be a Christian and Religious today... The Lord has loved me so much: we must love everyone... we must be compassionate!"
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