Dear Parishioners and Visitors:
Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there shall thy bread be (Ecclesiastes 11:1-3).
As we continue with Sunday readings from St. John’s Bread of Life Discourse, especially the multiplication of the loaves the fish and the feeding of the multitude, it’s a good time to thank all those who give so generously and regularly to the poor box in the church. It sits under the sign, “Remember God’s Poor” and just below Heinrich Hofmann’s painting, “Christ in Gethsemane.” With the donations – from checks to crumbled dollar bills to spare change – many members of the local community are fed.
Because of your generosity, at last week’s meeting of the St. Joseph’s Parish Outreach Committee, funds were set aside to continue our participation with the Rotary’s “Community Chest Program” by ensuring that the elderly and needy of the area will receive food and toys at Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition, funds were disbursed to Haven Pregnancy Center to foster pro-life programs for young women and men, to The Vets Rest Stop to say thanks to our local military veterans, to The Bridge Project as they purchase bookbags and school supplies for area children and help with domestic violence issues and the local unsheltered population, and to the Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive in support of their donations to those who suffer from intellectual challenges in the Linwood Community. Your poor box donations helped us to purchase gift cards from local markets to help the hungry and thirsty in surrounding towns with groceries.
Much like the little boy with the five loaves and two fish, your contributions, no matter how large or small, have yielded a fruitful harvest from thy bread cast upon the waters.
With prayerful best wishes,
Fr. John Mahoney