October 31, 2008

Letters to the Editor

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Best way to help youths understand God’s love is through serving others

It was heartwarming to read in Archbishop Daniel Buechlein’s recent column about our young peoples’ reaction to the Homeland Mission program, and how they felt so empowered and filled with the Holy Spirit by their hands-on experience of service to others.

I loved these comments: “I love the feeling I get when I can see that I made a difference in their lives. … I learned a lot about my faith and seeing Jesus in others. … It helped me to get closer to God by helping people in need and seeing that it is just not about me. … You have no idea what this means to some of us. … Due to this mission, I felt I took a step toward God as I saw the face of Jesus in many of the needy. … This was a life-changing experience for me.”

We need to expand this program throughout our archdiocese and parishes.

The best way to help kids understand God’s love is to give them an opportunity to love and serve.

Our schools and religious education programs should have an annual giving experience built into every grade’s curriculum and, more than that, a program should be developed to link up our adults with the “dreadfully lonely elderly folks here in our midst.”

Many of us are willing to serve, but aren’t aware of where the help is needed.

The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program is there to help our youths, and the St. Vincent de Paul Society to help our poor.

Are there programs out there to match volunteers with our lonely elderly? If not, there should be.

- Mike Walro, Madison

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