There is no clearer focus for Catholics that Our Holy Father has laid out for us during this Year of Mercy than to perform good works to those in need around us, both locally and around the world. The St. John Parish Family lives out his call on a daily basis, from our Immokalee Missions Team, the Simple Gesture, to the Ladies of Charity, Saint Vincent DePaul Society, and the Knights of Columbus, who all focus on the needy here in Naples and Collier County. Groups like the Jamaican Outreach Program and Pontifical Missions deal with issues internationally. One of the largest issues today that we must confront as Catholics is the refugee crisis, which encompasses everyone from those crossing into the United States from Latin and South America as well as African and Middle Eastern crises as people flee persecution for their religious beliefs and starvation from droughts. Pope Francis said this week:
Migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all. Don’t we all want a better, more decent and prosperous life to share with our loved ones?
…The Church stands at the side of all who work to defend each person’s right to live with dignity, first and foremost by exercising the right not to emigrate and to contribute to the development of one’s country of origin. This process should include, from the outset, the need to assist the countries which migrants and refugees leave. This will demonstrate that solidarity, cooperation, international interdependence and the equitable distribution of the earth’s goods are essential for more decisive efforts, especially in areas where migration movements begin, to eliminate those imbalances which lead people, individually or collectively, to abandon their own natural and cultural environment. In any case, it is necessary to avert, if possible at the earliest stages, the flight of refugees and departures as a result of poverty, violence and persecution.
Pope Francis 2016 Message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees (http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/01/2016_message_for_world_day_of_migrants_and_refugees/1176013)
In order to directly engage Pope Francis’ call for supporting refugees in their country of origin and help them rebuild their lives, St. John is partnering with the Naples Council of World Affairs and Shelter Box, a non-profit that provides immediate shelter and supplies for displaced families around the world, in particular in urgent refugee locations, like Syria currently. We will have the Shelter Box, including the family tent, outside our Masses on February 6-7 to showcase this function and provide you an opportunity to learn more about their mission, which truly saves lives.