One of Pope Francis’ frequent themes is that Christians must be “close to the people we help”.  He says that he often asks people if they give to the poor, to which people often answer “yes”.  Then he says, “tell me, when you give to the poor, do you look in the eyes of the person, touch their hand, or throw the money there?”  He implores, “touch, touch poverty, touch, a heart that touches, to look and to understand.”

Our faith calls us to service to one another and service to the poor.  All service is good!  But service is especially powerful when it is accompanied by direct face-to-face interaction with the people we serve.  In this way, we bring Christ to those we serve, and we meet Christ in them as well!  

That is why our pastoral council, as part of our strategic visioning, has made it a goal to encourage members of our parish to discern how they may be called to step to the edge of their comfort zone and serve others in face-to-face ministries.  We are blessed at St. Pius X to have a number of people serving in face-to-face ministries today:  homebound ministry, grief ministry, St. Vincent dePaul, jail & prison ministry, catechists, retreat teams for youth and adults, divorced care, and hospital visits among others.

Over the coming months, each month, we will feature a different face-to-face ministry of the month where our parishioners are reaching out in person to those in need. Our first face-to-face ministry of the month for March will be homebound ministries.  Watch the bulletin and our St. Pius X social media to find the ministry where the Lord is calling you to meet Him and to bring His love to a person in need.