We Have Been Given Mercy

1 Peter 2:9-10
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside mercy and now you have been given mercy”.

We have been given mercy and as children of the one Father, we are called to share that mercy.

James 2: 13
“Talk and behave like people who are going to be judged by the law of freedom, because there will be judgment without mercy for those who have not been merciful themselves; but the merciful need have no fear of judgment”.

Brothers, let us encourage one another. The love of neighbor is not optional. In the end we shall all be told: “I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me”. (Matthew 25:40)

We are in dire need of workers in His vineyards. Please encourage your brothers who are yet to appeal on our behalf, to come aboard…..HELP!

Friends

Jesus said: “I shall not call you servants any more, because a servant does not know his master’s business; I call you friends,….” John 15: - 15. (JB)

If we are Christians, then it means that we are friends, one and all.

I want to thank the many friends of the poor who responded to our last posting to say that they found our messages useful.

As friends of the poor, I want to draw your attention to what, in my daily prayer, I call: ‘the ravages of natural disaster’. Peru has had a disastrous earthquake. Hurricane Dennis has ravaged St. Lucia, the southern coasts of the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica. At the time of this writing, it has made landfall in Central America and, as a category 5, is wreaking its havoc on the Yucatan Peninsula.

This ministry, as is our wont, will answer the calls for relief. We can only do so through the continued kindness of our donors, who are located mainly in the United States of America.

If ever we needed the help of all our friends, the time is now.

I am appealing to those deacons who have already made pilgrimage and have appealed, to consider whether they could not again do so at a parish where we have not yet been; and also to help to attract more participants from the various dioceses who have not yet been on pilgrimage.

To those deacons on our mailing list who are yet to take that ‘spiritual walk’ with us, this is a good time to speed up your process of discernment. I do look forward to hearing from you.

Blessings!

Please visit our website www.foodforthepoor.org to see the latest disaster reports from our people ‘in the field’.

SEEING THE FACE OF CHRIST

By Deacon Ted Brenneman (Diocese of Burlington)
(excerpts)

For months a copy of the Deacon Digest had lain open on my desk to a page with an ad for deacons to visit the poor in Jamaica. The tours were sponsored by a charitable organization called Food For The Poor and they were free for deacons! Mary (my wife) had looked at it too and was interested but neither of us did anything.

Then one day I resolved to clean my desk…next thing I knew I was on the phone talking to Deacon Jack Pierce at Food For The Poor…he assured me that the trip was really free, and added that the experience would change my life and that of Mary as well. I took this last assurance with a grain of salt….

Since that first trip in 2003, we have returned twice to Jamaica, taking each time one of our children along with their family. These visits to the poor have been so powerful that one of our daughters and two of our grandchildren asked to be baptized in the Caribbean Sea by the priest who accompanies Food For The Poor!

Deacons and wives, do not pass up this opportunity!

FFTP note….Deacon Ted sponsored a fishing village in Jamaica. THANKS AGAIN TED &MARY