Year of Mercy Parishioner Highlight: Feed the Hungry

 
This month I had the opportunity to interview Jim and Connie Cade, and Tim Huckaby about their work with the Salavation Army Casserole ministry.  This ministry consists of parishioners making casseroles that the Salvation Army then serves off a truck to people who are homeless in the Des Moines area. As I listened to these three talk about their service and work with this ministry I was humbled not by the work they were doing but by the attitudes they had about the people they served. These people loved the people they served.  I saw, by listening to their stories and experiences, how they actively loved others and then saw the fruits of that love. Tim states in the video that he liked the "directness" of this ministry; he is not just writing a check and wondering where the money goes but has direct contact with those whom he serves.  Pam shares her story of meeting a person who benefited from this casserole and the amazement with seeing the outcome of their work. Jim beautifully and simply reminds us that we are all charged to follow in Christ's example.

I have always found it rather cliche in our society to "feed the hungry."  In college, serving at the soup kitchen was the easiest way to get service hours or for a Christian group to serve the community.  I saw so many people go at it halfheartedly that I had started to become disenchanted with the idea.  This interview provided me with a living example of people who genuinely see Christ in the people they serve.  They see this ministry as their charge by God, it is a calling.  Through the living out this Work of Mercy they are united with Christ in their actions and thoughts.  Thank you to the Salvation Casserole Ministry at St. Pius for the work you do in Feeding the Hungry.

Blogger: Emily Schmid

YEAR OF MERCY

What Pope Francis says about 

Feeding the Hungry and Clothing the Naked

Excerpt from Church of Mercy by Pope Francis, pages 23-24

 

Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, and for enabling them to be fully a part of society.  This demands that we be docile and attentive to the cry of the poor and come to their aid...The Church has realized that the need to heed this plea is itself born of the liberating action of grace within each of us, and thus it is not a question of a mission reserved only for a few. "The Church guided by the Gospel of mercy and by love for humankind, hears the cry for justice and intends to respond to it with all her might." In this context we can  understand Jesus' command to his disciples: "You yourselves give them something to eat!" (Mark 6:27)...

...God shows the poor "his first mercy."  This divine preference has consequences for the faith life of all Christians, because we are called to have "this mind...which was in Jesus Christ" (Phil. 2:5). Inspired by this, the Church has made an option for the poor, which is understood as a "special form of primacy in the exercise of Christian charity, to which the whole tradition of the Church bears witness.  "This option-as Benedict XVI has taught-"is implicit in our Christian faith in a God who became poor for us, so as to enrich us with his poverty."  

December Question of the Month

Each month during the Year of Mercy, we will be asking our parish a question to help them reflect on their faith journey. Please feel free to answer lovingly in the comment section.  For December we will be focusing on the two Works of Mercy: feeding the hungry and clothing the naked.  Consider these Works of Mercy as you reflect on these questions.  Visit our website www.stpiushome.org/mercy to take an opinion poll on how you practice mercy and for more information on the Jubilee Year of Mercy at St. Pius and around the world.  Stay connected through social media and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  We at St. Pius wish you a happy Year of Mercy!

1. How do you (and your family) live our parish mission statement?
           Love God. Love Other. Make Disciples. Restore all things in Christ.

2. How do you show your love of God and love of others?

3. What gifts have you been given that you use for the good of others?

4. How do you show MERCY to member of your family; to people you do not know?