An Appeal For the Horn of Africa, In Free Verse (Updated)

For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in.

I hear that you lost a few coins yesterday in the maelstrom.
I am sorry for your loss.
Perhaps you follow the financial markets too closely.
Or the latest budget crisis.
Or political football contests.

Because Family Has No Perfect Picture

There are neat people everywhere. Yes, you have them in your parish too. And they are outside your parish as well, waiting for you to invite them to join the family. Or to expand your own family, like one of my fellow parishioners has done.

For All the Charities: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Guest post by Warren Jewell. Warren is a long time reader of YIMCatholic and I saw he posted this on his Facebook Page. Thinking that it might be something you would be interested in as well, I asked his permission to share it with you. Though not a Catholic hospital or charity, per se, the work they do, and the amount they charge their patients (see below), are in keeping with the finest traditions of Catholic agape for our neighbor.

Saint Jude Children’s Research Hospital sent me another appeal for funds with a short sketch about What Cancer Cannot Do. But, first, a little history to try to appeal to your blessed, giving ways about Saint Jude’s.

Because of Charity

OK, I admit: I went grudgingly. The leader of our School of Community proposed we do a work of charity for the parish monthly. The pastor suggested visiting a local nursing home within our parish boundaries and where he celebrates Mass once a month. And so today seven of us met at the entrance of the nursing home. I kept thinking: I have papers to grade and laundry to do and a kitchen to clean and a garden to plant. And I also thought: I never have been inside a nursing home.

Who Is Jesus Christ? by Eric Sammons (A Book Review)

—Feast of Blessed Mother Marianne Cope

Yesterday I wrote about classic books in the packs and pockets of the saints and how reading them can help us too. For example, St. Francis de Sales (whose feast day is tomorrow) and his worn copy of Dom. Scupoli's The Spiritual Combat. St. Teresa of Avila turned from reading trashy romance novels to reading books like Francisco de Osuna's The Third Spiritual Alphabet.

Because of the Spirit of the Season

Writer Julie Cragon runs the Saint Mary's Bookstore in Nashville, Tennessee. She shares with us this reflection from her blog.

Guest Post by Julie Cragon
Sister Sally, a Daughter of Charity, came by the store the day before Thanksgiving and was jumping out of her skin to tell us a story about the "Spirit of the Season."

She came to the register at the bookstore and I immediately tried to help and screwed up her order for 10 minutes. Finally we got on the same page that she was trying to get a purple globe with five insert candles for her Sanctuary lamp during the Advent Season. I thought she was going for three purple and a pink for a wreath. Oops. Anyway, helped her out a little on the price because she had mentioned knowing it would "cost her" but they have an electric lamp and she just wanted the "real thing" during such a special season. I thing she'd always prefer the "real thing" and I agree. So she smiled and thanked me and said how much she loved the "Spirit of the Season."

To Make My Christmas Shopping Reflect a Revolution of the Heart

As Christians prepare for the First Sunday of Advent, we also are heading into the Christmas shopping season. It's important we consider where our dollars are going. My friend Judy and I had the opportunity the other night to attend a Fair Trade Christmas Sale sponsored by the Diocese of Metuchen. The diocese didn't charge a dime to the fledgling entrepreneurs from the Intersect Fund who had set up tables at the fair. Judy and I were both delighted to buy handmade bracelets created by Zakiyia Forbes, (pictured here) the homeschooling mother of two young children. Buying local and supporting fair trade are trendy ideas. And these ideas also have a long, noble history in the Church.

To Send Supplies to the Christians in Iraq

Sending letters to the Nuncio was a great idea to let our embattled brothers and sisters in Iraq know we care. And with a little help from our friends (like the Anchoress and Father Robert Barron and many other bloggers—thanks!), the letter post  "read 'round the world" was shared by 384 people on Facebook and resulted in 2400+ people reading the post. We're not sure how many e-mails the Nuncio received, but we will let you know what we find out.

But many asked us about how to send relief in the form of food and supplies. Sending donations that can be turned into food, clothing, and shelter is an idea that many of us would like to put into action now.

To Pray for the Flood Victims in Pakistan

Feast of Saints Eustachius

It's still raining in Pakistan. At the end of July, some of the worst flooding ever recorded began to take place there. By early August, torrential rains caused the Indus River to rise above it's banks, making upwards of eight million people homeless. Yes, you read that right. 8,000,000,000. Think of everyone in the entire state of Virginia being homeless, with hardly any food and barely any drinkable water, and you can imagine what is the scale of this disaster.

For All The Charities: "The Christian Foundation for Children and Aging"

Christ has a way of getting us to listen. I've been struggling to fully obey the Second Commandment, loving your neighbor as yourself. In fact, I blogged about it yesterday morning. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I and our two sons headed to Mass at  St. Peter the Apostle Parish in New Brunswick, NJ, where both our boys had been baptized. We arrived early and as I lingered in the foyer, I noticed some brochures set up on a table. It seemed there would be a guest preacher at this Mass.

During Mass, the guest preacher, Father Tom Singer O.M.I , read from the Gospel the Canticle of Mary from the Book of Luke. And then he did something remarkable, something I never had seen a priest do. He raised the Lectionary high in one hand and proclaimed "THIS is the Gospel of the Lord." By then, I was eager to hear what he had come to share.