Winter Coat Drive The Knights of Columbus will be holding their annual Winter Coat Drive the weekend of November 11th and 12th. Give your gently used, ready-to-wear (and clean) coats new life by donating them to those in need. We are especially looking for children’s coats. The Knights will be collecting coats after all Masses during the November 11th weekend.
We are often asked, What do Urban Missionaries of Our Lady of Hope do? The simple answer is that we follow those who lived their lives helping others in their attempt to follow Jesus Christ every day of their life. This is not a new idea for it was handed down from the very beginning when God broke in on the life of mankind as recorded in Genesis, “take care of the widows and the orphans, and the alien.” Saint John, the Apostle, in his first letter tells us, “This way we came to understand love was that He laid down His life for us: we too must lay down our lives for our brothers. I ask you, how can God’s love survive in a man who has enough of this world’s goods yet closes his heart to his brother when he sees him in need? John 1 (3:16,17). The early Church turn to Mary, the Mother of God for inspiration and guidance. It has given us this lesson in prayer on the celebration of her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of Her visitation to her cousin Elizabeth. Help me to strive to imitate your wonderful charity by aiding those in need, by sympathizing with those afflicted, by opening my heart and applying my hands to relieve every form of distress. Give me love like yours, which recognized in every human being a brother or sister in Jesus Christ, to be treated with respect and tenderness and to be aided according to the measure of my power. Teach me that the test of my following your Devine Sonis practical charity. Help me, above all, so that by my good example I may enrich and ennoble every human being whose life I touch. (Mary My Hope, 1977, Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik, S.V.D., Divine Word Missionary, Catholic Book Publishing Co. New York) And in our times we are reminded once again in the words of Bishop Robert Baron. “Friends, our Gospel for today features the parable of the mustard seed. How does God tend to work? From the very small to the very great—and by a slow, gradual process. God tends to operate under the radar, on the edges of things, quietly, clandestinely, not drawing attention to himself. C.S. Lewis speaks to this principle. How, he asks, did God enter history? Quietly, in a forgotten corner of the Roman Empire, sneaking behind enemy lines. How was European Christianity established? Through the handful of people that listened to St. Paul in Philippi and Athens. How did the mighty Franciscan movement come to be? One odd, mystical kid who heard a voice coming from a crucifix: "Francis, rebuild my church, which is falling into ruin." A handful of followers joined him in his quixotic project, then dozens, then hundreds, then thousands. So don’t be afraid to do small things at the prompting of God! Plant the seed, make the move, take the risk—take even the smallest step, and don’t worry about who notices or how much attention you’re getting. Sow the seed and leave the rest to the mercy and providence of God.” Bishop Robert Baron 02-01-2020 So we, as Urban Missionaries of Our Lady of Hope humbly put the command to, “love your neighbor as yourself,” into action in our daily life, every day, with the help of God!
The Hampstead Knights of Columbus will hold their annual Veteran's Day Dinner on Saturday, November 4, 2023 starting at 6:00 PM. The dinner is free but reservations are required no later than October 26th. Please click on the title link for more information.