Lenten Mercy Project St Catherine of Siena’s Lenten Mercy Project (LMP) provides assistance in various forms to a number of local charities in-and-through the themes of Lent: Give drink to the thirsty, Give food to the hungry, and more.

In the Season of Lent we are called to recognize the needs of others and to respond with a generous “Yes,” making Justice happen in particular situations. As we come to Mass each Sunday and gaze upon Christ being made real in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we also see the “backdrop” of the Beatitudes on the wall, THE blueprint of our Christian lives, summed up in one word, “Action.” We are each called to “do something.”

Week Two of the LMP is “Give drink to the thirsty,” and our beneficiary is the Little Sisters of the Poor in Enfield at St Joseph’s Residence, a nursing care facility mainly for the poor. In years past, we’d see our atrium and vestibule packed sky-high with tea, coffee, juices, soda, water and so much more. The Little Sisters of the Poor (LSP) would always be overwhelmed with the stockpiles of goodies our parish would provide. It was an impressive thing to see, an outpouring of support for the needy for sure, but also I believe, an outpouring of respect and an admiration of all that the LSP do in the world. And certainly each week and each charity we support receive similar donations but there is something special about the LSP!

A NEW TWIST. This year—due to shortages of specific supplies in the grocery stories and a lack of storage at some of our LMP beneficiaries, we are trying something new, a twist to our LMP. Rather than buying and delivering actual supplies—coffee, tea, and other items during the LMP, we are instead asking our parishioners to help in two ways: (1) simply make a donation to St. Catherine Parish and write on the check or cash envelope for which week you are donating, and then the parish will transmit the funds at the end of the LMP to each charity so they can purchase what items they need at a given time, or (2) purchase a gift card at a grocery store, Walmart or other store and place either the money or the card in the box at the LMP station in the church.

I hope that this enables us to continue to help out each charity as well as make their work easier and more efficient, as they seek to support the elderly poor, families in need, local veterans and so many more.

As we enter this second Lenten week, let us give thanks to God for our blessings—our families, health, our wherewithal to buy and do, and our Faith—and ask Him for the Courage and Wisdom to be His Light, Compassion and Love in the world around us; and, to know that the “world around us” might just be an elderly person in a nursing home room in Enfield, a veteran at the Newington Veteran’s hospital, or a mom or dad struggling to buy food for their children. It’s not just technology that makes the world a “smaller place”, it is God who created us as one family in the world, making our world very local.

Thank you and bless (+) you all who participate in our parish’s Lenten Mercy Project