Beloved People of God:
My hope is burning: I trust in the Lord! Our Holy Father, Pope Francis announced this year as a Jubilee Year, a special gift of grace calling us to be a leaven of God’s hope. Our trust in the Lord is the source of life that has no ending if we stay true to God.
Hope, together with faith and charity express the heart of the Christian life. Surely we “abound in hope”, so that we may bear credible and tender witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts; that our faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic; and that each of us may be able to offer a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed, in the knowledge that, in the Spirit of Jesus, these can become, for those who receive them, rich seeds of hope.
The ministries funded by Our Catholic Appeal are rich seeds building upon the hope offered through the Lord. These ministries introduce us to God; teach us the beauty of the gift of life; nurture the bonds of God and family; open the heart of God to our brothers and sisters who live in our neighborhood; fill our spirit with joy as we proclaim the Gospel through our word and deed; and enrich our soul with God’s Eucharistic feast. The ministries funded by Our Catholic Appeal are the outreach of hope in the Lord opening our eyes to God’s wisdom, for we no longer look at the world with eyes of earthy desires. Rather, we see with the perspective of God.
They are the hope of God transcending the earth as we arise and settle His goodness through all our days.
Each one of you is an inspiration to me as I visit you in your parishes and you share how your trust in the Lord breathes God’s hope among His people. I am grateful to you for your generous contributions to support the ministries of Our Catholic Appeal. Your gracious gifts presented before God stretch the roots of God’s love to more than 400,000 Catholics who live within the Diocese of Orlando.
My hope is burning: I trust in the Lord! Jesus invites us to anoint each day with His hope by receiving the Eucharist and offer Him to each other. The ministries funded by Our Catholic Appeal are one way we seed the earth with this hope! May the way we live our lives say: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. My hope is burning: I trust in the Lord! Go to www.ourcatholicappeal.org