Lenten season - a time to give of yourself

by Chris Heiderscheidt

DCCW Community Concerns Commission Coordinator

The Council of Catholic Women Community Concerns Commission has chosen to focus on welcome and hospitality this year. This includes not only welcoming new members, but also those already around us, or visiting...., welcome the stranger among us. In Matthew 25:34-35, Jesus tells us as he speaks of final judgement: I recommend reading this chapter of St. Matthew to see what will happen to those that choose otherwise. I can remember being in grade school at Mass and hearing this and thinking,"Hungry, thirsty, naked, strangers, here?" Yes here, hungry and thirsty, not just for food and water but for genuine caring love. Strangers right here in our own corner of the world, longing for someone to accept them and welcome them as they are.

What better time than Lent to better serve Jesus than to serve each other? Our young adults will be confirmed in the upcoming weeks, receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit that will aid them as adult members of the church.

Being an adult in the church is about being of service to one another, the church.

Our children need to grow up seeing their parents lovingly be of service to one another, to other family members, neighbors and beyond. An act as simple as shoveling the sidewalk for elderly or sick neighbors, or making an extra batch of cookies to someone feeling down or lonely is being the hands and feet of Jesus.

Each parish CCW Community Concerns Coordinator has been encouraged to find out what their parish has in place for welcoming new members. CCW is about reaching out to those around us, to respond with Gospel values to the needs of the Church and society in the modem world.