St. Francis Xavier Conference Stoney Creek

Our recognition of the World Day of the Poor was held this year at all Masses for the weekend of the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The first thrust was the homily given by Deacon John Girolami, spiritual advisor of the St. Francis Xavier Conference of the SSVP. It focused on the theme as given by Pope Francis for the day. “The Poor man cried and the Lord heard him”. It focused on three points; first the action to cry, to answer and to free. The gospel calls us to help the poor. We are to encounter the poor and to engage with the poor where they are. The community heard of the Living Wage initiatives that are being proposed to the government. Finally, a discussion on the gospel of Mark on the end times was presented.

Members of our conference handed out information on the Society and encouraged new members to come forward. We were able to recruit 2 new members. We also gave out prayer cards after Mass. We also provided cards for the parishioners to sign. They were asked to put their good wishes for the poor in our area on the cards and to sign their names. These were given to those the Society visited during our December home visits. During that time, we visited 26 families. We also launched again our Jesse tree project. This is an opportunity for those in our community to provide Christmas gifts for those in need in our area. A tree is placed at the doors of the church and cards are tied to the branches similar to Christmas ornaments. On each card is the name of an article one can purchase as a gift. It also identifies the person receiving the gift; male or female and their age. This drive carried over to the next Sunday as well. Through this effort 240 gifts were donated.

This is the second year that we recognized the World Day of the Poor in our community. We have also set aside that date for next year.

Deacon John Girolami