Last Sunday, May 3, was a beautiful warm and sunny day, and part of that warmth emulated from an amazing amount of St. Catherine of Siena families and individual parishioners who came by the church grounds to be Christ’s light to others by “Receiving a Blessing and Becoming a Blessing” for those in need.

Car-after-car plowed through the parking lot between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. as I offered God’s blessings upon them and their families, who then in turn, became blessings themselves as they drove to the church where more than 20 volunteers—masked, gloved and properly socially distancing—accepted the generous donations of food for our St. Catherine of Siena Food Pantry as well as to also help support the Town of Simsbury’s Food Pantry at Eno Hall. It was an amazing success with mountains of food collected.

Our own food pantry is now stuffed with helpful essentials for anyone in need, and the Town of
Simsbury’s citizens are also the beneficiaries of stockpiles of food staples born out of the Christian charity of so many good people. It was also for me great to see and speak with many parishioners who came to help. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues and more and more people face unemployment, social isolation and anxiety about the future, the people of this parish came out and did what they could—amazingly going beyond the “ask” to help others.

“It is just another sign of the goodness of the people of this parish—their deep faith at work in everyday life. I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said Kathi Bonner, director of Faith Formation and event organizer. Kathi along with 20 volunteers collected, divided, organized and distributed the food stuffs to two separate locations—our own food pantry in the church vestibule and the Town’s food pantry at Eno Hall along Hopmeadow Street.

I want to personally thank everyone in involved in this past weekend’s event as well as the parishioners and all who participated. Thanks for coming out to Receive a Blessing and to Become a Blessing all in the name of Charity and Christ. Remember to check out your St. Catherine of Siena Constant Contacts for notifications on all parish activities and ways to remain connected to our parish and our faith! Or go to stcatherine.info for updated information and watch the Sunday and daily Masses.