As it was announced earlier we had the Mercy in Action day planned for October 8, 2016. After making calls to our home bound parish members, six of the families wanted help with some clean up in and around the house. We had a good response from our parish members who came forward to help and all had a very positive experience as they went about doing something different than usual on a Saturday morning.

 We gathered in the Church at 9.00 am, introduced ourselves, said a prayer together and were sent out to do their special ministry – in the mean time as our parish members were helping our home bound, I made it a point to visit them and I could see all smiles on those receiving help and those helping out. 

 Here are some thoughts of those who volunteered to help.

·         It went quicker than we thought.

·         It was fulfilling – wonderful way to show Christ’s love.

·         Enjoyed visiting with people whom we served.

·         We liked it so much that we promised the family that we would do  this again.

·         Was happy to do this for our parish member, got to know another family with whom we worked.

·         I am glad that the Church organized this day.

·         Terrific – it was really good – it was good for our children to roll up their sleeves and help those who needed help especially from our own parish.

·         It made them feel good – it inspired to seek out more service related projects.

Among the volunteers that helped there were four eighth graders from St. Valentine School that accompanied their parents. All four of them enjoyed doing their works and had fun. They were a little anxious before getting to the place, but once they got to know what they had to do they all enjoyed it. Now they are looking for more such opportunities.

 I am so happy that this worked out well – we had a good number of home bound in need and we had help that was just enough for all the projects. God also blessed us with good weather. Thanks to all those who said “let us go out and see how we can help our own parish members”. And thanks to Catholic Charities of South East Michigan (CCSEM) for bringing up this new idea in this Year of Mercy.

God Bless you all. 

Fr. Socorro