Reminders 2004

BULLETIN REMINDERS 2004

Many of these reminders were prepared by Helen Donnelly of the St. Vincent de Paul Society's Diocesan Council of Brooklyn & Queens. We suggest that these announcements appear in your weekly parish bulletins. If you find these notices helpful, you may say "Thanks" by sharing them with another Conference.

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September 19, 2004
"No form of charity is foreign to our Society"

The St. Vincent de Paul Society doesn't have a lock on good ideas about how to serve others. We are called to consider any way that we can help someone. Have a good idea? Why not call to share it, or share your time to help put it into practice?

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September 26, 2004
St. Vincent de Paul...

whose feast is celebrated tomorrow, did not begin his career a saint, but as a pretty worldly priest, who sought favors from the powerful and rich. But the Lord changed him, so that as he lay dying his one regret was that he had not done enough to minister to the poor. Avoid that regret! Join the Society and meet Christ who dwells, as he said, in the poor (Matt 25).

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October 3, 2004
The feast of Francis of Assisi...

reminds us that greatness in the eyes of the Lord is not in being rich nor powerful, but in faithful, loving, joyful service to the Lord and to our brothers and sisters.

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October 10, 2004
On the Street Where You Live...

wherever you live in our parish, there are poor families within walking distance of your home. When they ring the doorbell of the rectory, they are also ringing your doorbell. Your contributions to the Poor Boxes can have a powerful effect for good in the lives weighed down with the cares of poverty, illness or loneliness.

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October 17, 2004
The Partnership of Giving

The partnership of giving is a special one created by faith, bonded by sacrifice, nurtured by love and blessed by God. How can we fail, if you remember our Poor Boxes, and keep the needy in your prayers?

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October 24, 2004
We Are Listening

The St. Vincent de Paul Society exists to assist those in need. We can help those we know about. We hear of their need from people like you. Do you know of a parishioner in need of temporary assistance. Please call the rectory and leave a message.

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October 31, 2004
All Hallow's Eve (Halloween)...

begins our own feast day, the feast of All Hallows (or All Saints!). That's supposed to be all of us. The St. Vincent de Paul Society exists to help its members become holy, through the method given by Christ himself--service to those in need. There's room for you around our table.

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November 7, 2004
Our Works

Our most important work is not so much what we do, but rather what we become. Our works are not something we do for God, nor even something we do with God. Our works, what we become, is something we allow God to do in us.

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November 14, 2004
A Mute Appeal

We wait silently at the doors of the church. We wait and hope, as do the needy, for a share of your coins. We are the Poor Boxes. Please don't pass us by.

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November 21, 2004
We Give Thanks...

for the support you give us; for the opportunity to serve the poor in our midst; for the grace of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist which is the greatest Thanksgiving. On behalf of the many families who we will be able to help enjoy this week's Thanksgiving feast, we give thanks for you, and to you!

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November 28, 2004
Do Your Christmas Sharing Early

Let your heart and means dictate what to share. Your contributions enable your St. Vincent de Paul Society to deliver your Christmas message of good cheer to our neighbors in need.

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December 5, 2004
Thanks for your Alms

Alms are an old-fashioned word for money given for charitable purposes. The St. Vincent de Paul Society thanks you for allowing us to be a channel for your almsgiving. And through us the poor thank you for the food, medicine, heat and clothing you supply. "The Poor Boxes are the bread boxes of the poor."

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December 12, 2004
Three candles aflame on our Advent wreaths...

a bit more light in our homes and church. Each week as another wick is lit, more light shines forth. In the same way, your assistance, however small, is added to the contributions of others to provide for the poor. Together, we can make the world a brighter place for many.

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December 19, 2004
Think of the Innkeeper

Imagine how the innkeeper who found some room in the stable felt after the birth of Jesus. Sorry, perhaps that he hadn't given up his own bed, but glad that he had not turned away Mary and Joseph completely. A poor couple had a baby, born into poverty, just another mouth to feed. Yet, it was that baby who is the Savior of the world. Thank God for that innkeeper's help to the Holy Family. Thank God for your help to all the poor families of our parish.

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December 26, 2004
St. Stephen, the first martyr

whose feast day falls today, is remembered for his powerful rhetoric and his death at the hands of those who would not believe. But Stephen came to prominence in the early Church because of a preaching more eloquent than that which he did in the synagogue--the example of his good works tending to widows and the poor as one of the first deacons. That service is continued in the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which invites you to make a New Year's Resolution of greater service to others with us.