Dear Friends:

As the final months of the 2018 Catholic Ministries Appeal are upon us, I ask you to prayerfully consider making a gift to this year’s Appeal. While more than 30,000 of our parishioners in all parishes across the Diocese have generously responded to the call to be the Hands of Christ’s Mercy with their gift, there are still so many ministries that need our support as we pursue our vision for dramatic missionary growth.

In Rejoice and Be Glad, Pope Francis states: “The Father’s plan is Christ and ourselves in Him. In the end, it is Christ who loves in us, for holiness is nothing other than charity lived to the full.”

Here on Long Island, the Catholic Ministries Appeal is one of the best local vehicles we can use to reach out and show mercy, compassion and charity to others. Not only does your gift help some of our very own Parish Outreach Programs feed and serve the poor, it also sustains programs and services offered by Catholic Charities across the Diocese. Such active efforts ensure that the recipients are comforted with the knowledge that God loves them and is with them even during the difficult times in their lives.

Even more, the Catholic Ministries Appeal supports the ministries that provide religious education for our children, form our future priests and deacons, make available youth, young adult and campus ministry programs and so many other important works that form the bedrock of dramatic missionary growth in our Diocese.

In gratitude for your prayerful consideration of a gift to the 2018 Catholic Ministries Appeal, be assured of my conviction that together we can bring Christ’s message of holiness to individuals, families and the wider community.

Thank you for embracing the mission of the Church. I will keep you and your family in my Masses and prayers.
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Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend John O. Barres

Bishop of Rockville Centre