My Sisters and Brothers in Christ:

During November, we praise God and offer our thanksgiving for He is the Creator of heaven and earth and all within it. He offers Himself to us as we receive the Eucharist, and we go forth to shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament. Within the arms of His light, we present Him to each person we meet.

Within the Diocese of Orlando, we are blessed with Catholic Charities of Central Florida, a gift of God to serve the stranger, to pray with the imprisoned, to love the lowly and offer mercy to the suffering. The staff, volunteers, and donors of Catholic Charities of Central Florida are the breath of God and bring forth His strength that all might
know the fullness of joys in His presence. The good works born of God through Catholic Charities of Central Florida is known by the people served.

Yes, these good works are recognizable as the tangibles of clothing, food, housing, medical and dental care, education, and job viability. But these good works are really humankind — those giving and those receiving — because without each one of you, all the tangibles would lie in a building stored for use, but never used. When Jesus asks us to love God and love our neighbor, He wants us to find as many ways as possible to express that love. We are not “motivated” because of any judgement, rather because God first loved us into being and came to us as Jesus, a sign of matchless love. Individually, we could not serve all the people served through the mission of hope brought forth by Catholic Charities of Central Florida. Pope Francis said, “The Church on earth is on a pilgrimage to heaven guided by the Lord, who will lead us to the fullness of joy and truth at the end of time.” He calls us “pilgrims of hope” and certainly the ministry of Catholic Charities of Central Florida attests to this pilgrimage.

My sisters and brothers in Christ, thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you for your continued support of Catholic Charities of Central Florida. We pray together in gratitude for the people who serve and are served. Let us bear witness to a boundless love for all the people, that true wealth is found in our encounter with others. By our daily living, may we be counted among those who lead the many to justice to be like the stars forever.