August 22, 2018

My dear friend,

Each Sunday and throughout the week that follows we strive to become Christ, the anointed one, the one who walks among friends and family dispensing evidence that God is with us. We strive to be transformed by Jesus’ parables and his miracles and to do the things he did when he was among us. His lessons are the foundation for the Corporal Works of Mercy, which instruct us on how we should treat all those around us, how we are to respond to the basic needs of humanity, and how we are to see Christ in everyone we meet. For several years now, our parish has worked together to live out two of these particular works – to shelter the homeless and visit the sick – in a tangible way through our support for Habitat for Humanity and Mur-Ci Homes.

Our involvement with Habitat reaches far beyond mere shelter. While we provide financial
support for constructing a house, we help make it a true home by coming to know the family which has sacrificed so much to escape a dangerous land and religious persecution. We match the sweat equity that they invest through building homes for others by picking up hammers and saws ourselves. And as we share in their delight of homeownership, we realize that sometimes we take for granted the blessings bestowed on us in this life.

Similarly, our support for Mur-Ci Homes is woven in many layers. Funds raised through this campaign help provide a joyful Christmas party, hosted here at Christ the King by the Knights of Columbus, for the 72 developmentally disabled people living at this Antioch group home. Equally important, this party gives us an opportunity to express our gratitude to their caregivers, who struggle with the hard job of nursing those dependent on others for virtually every necessity. And through your kindhearted response to the Corporal Works of Mercy Campaign, the Knights have been able to add a second annual party – a summer festival on the grounds at Mur-Ci Homes – to extend the ways that we "visit the sick."

I cannot fully express my gratitude to this parish for its wonderful and generous support of our Corporal Works of Mercy efforts in the past. This coming weekend, August 25-26, we again will have an opportunity to share our many blessings with those who are indeed the least among us. The Knights will be at all exits after mass to collect immediate contributions. There also will be envelopes in the pews and at the entrances to the church that you may take home as you consider a more meaningful gift. You may drop those into the collection at any time, mail your contribution to the parish office, or click here for online giving. Unless designated otherwise, all gifts received will be divided between Habitat and Mur-Ci Homes based on the respective cost of their endeavors.

In Christ,