Besides the pandemic, we also have a famine!
“There is a famine in the land—not for bread, not for water, but for the Word of the Lord.” (see Amos 8:11)
We are now in the holy season of Lent, a special time of grace. Jesus died for everyone, but so many people don’t know this!
So many souls are famished, are starving. They need to turn to Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, but many don’t know how, or don’t care.
To give some examples, Mike stopped going to church years ago. Now he says God would never take him back after so long and after so much sinful behavior.
Jen goes to get ashes as a custom, as something she’s always done, but then she goes on living her immoral lifestyle.
Anna is old enough for First Communion, but never even heard of Jesus, except hearing His name taken in vain.
Meg can’t be bothered getting her children to Mass and religious instructions. She doesn’t see the point of it and has other priorities, anyway.
Dave says his mom tells him Lent is important, but he says, “I don’t believe in God now, so why bother with Church?”
This list could go on and on.
All this must hurt the loving heart of Jesus.
These are the ones Parish Visitors were founded to help! We have been helping starving souls since we began, and this charism which our foundress, Mother Mary Teresa Tallon, handed down to us is more needed than ever!
“The Sisters are to have cloistered hearts, to be contemplatives for the street. They are to seek out, after the example of the Good Shepherd, those in need of spiritual and material assistance, the poorest and most neglected, those not practicing their Catholic faith. The union of contemplation and missionary activity is the essence of the Parish Visitor vocation.”
Yes, “There is a famine in the land….” Pope Francis has said, “Evangelization is the most important work of charity.” Combining evangelization with contemplative prayer, according to our charism, gives it its power! And, the more technology there is these days, the more powerful and needed our person-to person contact is!
Evangelization, of course, involves religious instructions–on the spot instructions as well as classroom instruction–as so many people know so little about God! Youth ministry, too, is a part of this apostolate.
Parish Visitors strive to instill in the children a deeper love of Jesus, to inspire the youth to love Him, to encourage the careless Catholics to come back to the heart of Jesus.
Those who are spiritually starving need Parish Visitors. Maybe they need YOU! Is the Good Shepherd calling you to help people like this, along with us?
Pray that everywhere we serve, our apostolate will be very fruitful for the Lord, in this Lenten time of grace and always.
We pray, too, that all of us will live this Lent the best we can for Our Lord, Who has done so much for us and loves us so much! God bless you all!
In Jesus,
Sister Dolores Marie
