Second collection Dec. 26-27 will aid Catholic Charities

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz
Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

May God bless you during this holy season of Advent and the start of this Jubilee Year of Mercy! On the weekend of December 26-27, the parishes of the Archdiocese will take up the annual collection for Catholic Charities.

On Christmas Day, we celebrate that the “Word became flesh.” The mystery of the Incarnation expresses God’s great mercy and love for the whole human family. We, as followers of Jesus, are, as Pope Francis says, the visible face of God’s mercy in the world. We are that face by our deeds of outreach and care, expressed traditionally in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

One major way that our archdiocesan Church manifests the face of mercy in central Kentucky is through our Catholic Charities agency. In all of its services and programs, Catholic Charities recognizes the dignity of each person encountered and demonstrates that we are all God’s children embraced by God’s mercy.

Along with our ongoing human service programs, such as the Sister Visitor Center, refugee resettlement, immigration services, Mother Infant Care, human trafficking, prison, jail and reentry ministry, and pregnancy and adoption services, Catholic Charities also is engaged in social enterprise initiatives.

Our Common Earth program involves eight community gardens, most located on parish properties; and our Common Table Culinary Arts program teaches food service skills to low income poor, those coming out of prison, and refugees.

Catholic Charities also provides opportunities for parishioners and parishes to put their faith into action, and it assists parishes in their outreach through training and partnership programs, such as the Serving Hope in Bologna Alley, by providing case management to lunch guests at the Cathedral of Assumption parish.

It is through your support that we are able to fund these programs, as well as respond to new needs that present themselves. Thus, I encourage your generous response to the collection that will be taken up in parishes during the last weekend of December.

During this Christmas season, please take the time to step back and ponder how you can be that visible face of Christ to others. Please know that you and your families are in my prayers as I ask God’s blessing on each of you during this holy time of year.

Sincerely yours in our Lord,
Most Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D.
Archbishop of Louisville

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