Outreach - St. Vincent

OUTREACH & St. VINCENT De PAUL MINISTRY

“Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven and said the blessing. And breaking the loaves he handed them to his disciples, who gave them to the crowds.” (Matthew 14:19)

“Jesus said, “I feel sorry for all these people … I do not want to send them off hungry, or they might collapse on the way … and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks he broke them and began handing them to the disciples, who gave them to the crowds.” (Matthew 15: 32-36)

“I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me.” (Matthew 25:35)

God, our Father, help us to recognize and honor Christ your son in the poor and the needy of this world. Give us the courage to reach out in service to our brothers and sisters in time of trouble and in their need.

Our OUTREACH ministry is geared toward responding to our call to reach out to others and take care of one another as disciples of Jesus Christ. It pleased Jesus to use the hands and services of his first disciples to feed the hungry of this world so does it please him still to use us as instruments to take care of one another. God has provided the world with the necessities of life for all peoples. The distribution is what he leaves in our hands. In our parish no one should be left out of care. We welcome the services of members who volunteer to work in this ministry either as a member of St. Vincent the Paul or simply as a disciple of Jesus Christ under the umbrella of St. Henry Church.

Here in Broward County there are several OUTREACH posts geared toward providing assistance to the needy. What we cannot accomplish alone we can in partnership with centers such as: PROVIDENCE PLACE, CATHOLIC CHARITIES,

                          THE POVERELLO CENTER (FOOD BANK)

                           CROSS ROAD FOOD BANK

                          GATEWAY COMMUNITY OUTREACH

                          THE COOPERATIVE FEEDING PROGRAM

In his letter of October 3, 2005, our Archbishop, John C. Favalora encouraged us “to foster a Saint Vincent de Paul Conference” in our various parishes. He gave the reason for that saying, “The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul can be of great assistance to the service provided to the poor in every parish… This group is rooted in the parish and works from the foundation of the parish. Using the local parish as their contact point with the poor, they take it upon themselves to visit each individual to find our what help is needed and how best to help. As a strictly parochial movement, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society obtains financial help from the parishioners themselves by collecting donations at the end of Mass. They totally depend upon the generosity of their fellow parishioners.”

The revival of the activities of the members of Saint Vincent de Paul in this parish is most welcome and we encourage parishioners to sign up and join.

Detention Ministry is part and parcel of Saint Henry’s Outreach Program. “I was in prison and you visited me.” (Matthew 25:35) Recently our parishioner who was leading the Detention Ministry relocated to another city. Our parish is in need of volunteers to continue the visits to the detention center. The office of Detention Ministry of the Archdiocese of Miami under the direction of Deacon Edgardo Farias offers basic volunteer training and continued assistance to members wishing to take up this service.