Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Every day, we are challenged to respond in some way to the pain and suffering that is so abundant in our world. In fact, many of us experience firsthand some type of suffering each and every day. However, we also realize that we have been truly blessed in so many ways. As Christians, we are asked to share those blessings, to lend a helping hand and to help alleviate the suffering of other members of our human family.
As we do so, we practice the charity that Pope Benedict XVI stated in his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate: “The more we strive to serve a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them.”
The Diocesan Works of Charity collection is one way that we, as local Church, can work to respond to suffering in our part of the world. The collection addresses special needs of people and organizations throughout the diocese. This last year the collection helped put a roof on a building of an organization that provides assistance for women with unplanned pregnancies, supplemented the funds of a church-based organization which responds to the emergency needs of families, provided assistance to several organizations in the diocese that provide legal aid to clients, helped with a shortfall for a program providing supportive housing for homeless men and women and helped fund winter clothing for children.
This special collection to assist with charitable needs in the Diocese of Davenport will be taken up at all Masses on the weekend of July 23-24. I thank you for sharing the Lord’s love by giving generously to this collection.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Rev. Martin Amos
Bishop of Davenport
