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In the story of the last judgment, Jesus told us that when we show generosity and kindness to those who are in need, we show generosity and kindness to Christ himself. One of the ways Catholics can respond to those who are poor in our neighborhoods, our nation, and our world is by supporting the collections that fund Catholic social ministry programs.
Our community of faith has created programs such as Catholic Charities, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, Catholic Relief Services, and countless other programs so that we can pool our resources to more effectively respond to the needs of our suffering brothers and sisters. The collections that fund these programs, including your diocesan appeal, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and the American Bishops' Overseas Appeal (ABOA), are not simply fundraising activities. They create valuable opportunities for individual Catholics to respond to Christ's call to love our neighbor. Through these collections, we add our contribution to the contributions of millions of Catholics across the diocese and/or the country so that together we can accomplish far more than any of us can accomplish individually. Other collections help build the church in various parts of the world, including the Collection for the Church in Latin America and the Collection for the Church in Eastern Europe.
Individuals can take advantage of these opportunities by giving generously when the collections are taken in their parishes. Parishes can make the most of these opportunities by using the collection materials to help educate parishioners about poverty and how the church responds.
To learn more, go to:
/cchd
or
/aboa
or
contact your diocese to find out about the diocesan collection(s) that fund local Catholic charities and other social ministry organizations.
Information on other national church collections can be found at www.usccb.org.