A must read: Who are the poor?

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900896.htm
Who are the poor? Advocates use many means to put a face on poverty
By Dennis Sadowski
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — At St. Joseph Husband of Mary Parish in Las Vegas, Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteer Carolyn Leontos can always count on parishioners to come through with big donations in times of need, even [...]

Lent Devotions from the Society of St. Andrew – Friday February 27

The Ministry of the Reconciliation
Read: 2 Corinthians 5:18-6:10
As a pastor of a local church for twenty-five years and a campus minister for thirteen years, I found that one of my most challenging ministries was to serve as “an agent of reconciliation.” To reconcile is to bring together two opposing parties or points of view. In [...]

Lent Devotions from the Society of St. Andrew – Thursday February 26

The Day of the Lord is Coming  
Read: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
The day is coming when His gathering hands shall bring us all together, standing before Him. That day when the Lord comes to put the world to rights will be a day filled with trembling. The ancient Israelites would not allow themselves to speak or write [...]

Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday

Thus says the Lord:
This is the fasting that I wish:
Releasing those bond unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
~ Isaiah 58:6-7

Lent Devotions from the Society of St. Andrew – Ash Wednesday

Why Ashes? 
Read: Genesis 3:19
We begin Lent marked by ashes and reminded that we are not going to make it out of this world alive.  Everything we are and have will return to the earth—everything except our spirit and our love.  God’s hands formed our bodies from the earth, and then He breathed spirit and life [...]

Beginning the new week in prayer

A prayer to begin a new week…
Father in heaven,
I lift my eyes to you and wait for your help.
I am your servant, entrusted with your gifts;
I am yours alone.
I lift my eyes to you who dwell in heaven.
Like a faithful servant, I wish to do your bidding.
As the eyes of a good servant are on [...]

40 Ways to Improve Your Lent

http://childrenoftherosary.blogspot.com/2009/02/40-ways-to-improve-your-lent.html
40 Ways to Improve Your Lent
This is an interesting list that I found when researching ways to make my Lent more meaningful. This list is a few years old, but is still relevant. I changed the original 26 which suggested watching “The Passion of Christ” instead of the Academy Awards. The Academy Awards were this [...]

Frequently asked questions …

Q.  Who was Blessed Rosalie Rendu?
A.  Blessed Rosalie Rendu, DC (1786 – 1856) was a Daughter of Charity who served for 54 years in the Mouffetard area, the most impoverished district of Paris. Emmanuel Bailly, the President of the Society, sent the founding members of the Society to Sister Rosalie for guidance and direction. Sending [...]

Thanks to Jeanette for this …

Those Wonderful Church Bulletins Are Back!
These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services (Summer, 2007 Release).
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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on Water.’ The sermon tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus.’
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Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation [...]

This week’s Vincentian Reflection …

SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
February 22, 2009
Gospel: (Mark 2: 1-12)
When Jesus returned to Capernaum…they came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd, they opened up the roof and they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.  When Jesus saw their faith, [...]