From the Heart of the Shepherd
- Church of St. Mark
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
From the bulletin for The Second Sunday of Lent (2026 March 08)
March 8 - 3rd Lent
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Thus spoke Winston Churchill, who lived through a crisis or two. In this case (only?), the Holy Spirit outdoes even the politicians. As the parable of the prodigal son shows, God, in His love, will often permit His children to fall into crises and pig-sties of all sorts in hopes that we will come to our senses, return to Him, and/or rise to the challenge with good works. Though we may let those trials go to waste, His providential hand is always at work to bring them about, or at least to bring good fruit out of them. Just as He brought the greatest of goods from the cruel death of His Son!
Oh, how He loves us! The world around us never ceases to provide opportunities in the form of sties, crises, and crosses. But I want to devote this Pastor’s column to providing a little retrospective and thanksgiving to those at the parish who made “good use” of the “last crisis” (the whole “immigration thing,” not that there has been any resolution to the underlying problems)–for the exercise of Chrisian charity towards those going through a hard time. Efforts continue, but this is what has happened so far:
Rent assistance. Thanks to contributions of parishioners and some neighbors to the Families in Need Fund, seven families in our parish or parish territory have received emergency rent assistance over the past two months. Saint Mark's also received a grant from the Catholic Community Foundation to assist with emergency financial needs. [We continue to receive requests for financial support as families recover from months of lost wages. To give to our fund, go to stmark.xyz/give and select "Parish Outreach -- People in Need" under "Fund."]
Groceries. Boxes and boxes of food, diapers, and household supplies donated in our Narthex food pantry have been shared with parish families and local Catholic school families in need. A few parish families have also “adopted” a family to provide their weekly groceries. This started when one family reached out to the parish MercyWorks ministry with the idea, and two hours later the ministry learned of a family in need of help with groceries. The “match” was made, and over the past month several other pairings have taken place.
Sacraments. Volunteers from our parish have taken Holy Communion to immigrant families in their homes and provided rides to Mass. Our priests have provided confessions in Spanish in homes and local apartment buildings. OCIA catechesis has been offered remotely. Through these ministries, friendships are forming, and some have returned to the practice of their Catholic faith.
Prayer & Fellowship. A parishioner organized a weekly Spanish-language rosary on Zoom, which now draws between 40 and 100 participants. What began as a daily 3 a.m. prayer is now held three times a week at different hours. This effort has brought together many Spanish-speaking individuals who hadn’t been to church in years, reconnecting them with their faith and with one another during a time of isolation and anxiety.
Friendship. Works of service have blossomed into new friendships among those serving and served at the parish. Families are inviting each other to dinner, children are playing together, and parents are sharing their experiences, often across language barriers—all connected through St. Mark’s.
Ministerially, the whole affair has helped make me more aware of the many Latinos (most of which are at least baptized Catholic) who live quite close to St. Mark’s, some who attend, but the many who don’t attend here or anywhere. This “crisis” would indeed have borne good fruit if it opens paths to encounter and conversion with those who have fallen away from the Church or never been joined to us. Please pray for that possibility.
If you would like to become a part of any of these efforts, please email mercyworks@onestrongfamily.org. And to those who have been a part, thank you.
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