When we are in the grip of this freezing weather, what keeps us going is the realization that Spring will come. But without that hope, this weather would soon become unbearable. Hope is that assurance that the present with all its limitation, worries and cares will yield to an environment full of life, love and vitality.
Many diseases descend like a bleak winter dusk on a person, and the verdict "Cancer" can seem like the end of the line. That is where the gift of Hope can make all things bearable. A fellow deacon, who was ordained with me twenty eight years ago, succumbed to cancer last year. His hope was that others would not share the same fate, that a cure would be available somewhere down the road. There are many in the parish who face the same challenge. In the case of my prostate cancer, the radiation treatment has rendered it benign for the foreseeable future. But outcomes are unique for different individuals. Not everyone gets good news. That is why we have to raise the level of hope for many by our personal support, our prayers and the support of organizations such as the American Cancer Society that are working to effect a cure for these insidious afflictions.
So if you have been slack in fulfilling your intended quota of corporal works of mercy, let us present you with an opportunity to bring a ray of hope into the lives of many again. The 9th of March will be Daffodil Sunday and many churches throughout Dutchess County will be ablaze with yellow daffodils. Your simple gift of $10 will help along two dimensions: it will bring a blaze of flowers into our sanctuary, and the same contributions will go toward cancer research that may help a person you love, perhaps even yourself, down the road. You may also join our ladies in the Comfort Corner that make Cancer Pads for the residents of Rosary Hill Home as they present your extra contribution to them. Your simple act of love will bring hope to many.
But time is of the essence. We have to place our order by 22 Feb 2008. So discuss it in your family, decide on an amount that you deem appropriate and fill out the coupon below. You may then put it in an envelope with your offering and place it into the collection basket. You can also bring it to the rectory during the week. If a hundred families respond, we will have a thousand blooms before the altar!
Lord, may we always give witness to You,
Deacon Walter
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Order for Daffodils on Daffodil Sunday - 10 March 2008
I would like to order _____ bunches of daffodils @ $10 each to be placed before the altar at St. Denis: $______Extra offering for Rosary Hill Home (optional): $______
Total: $______ I would like to take my flowers after the Noon Mass:
Yes ____ No ____
Please make checks out to St. Denis Church , Memo: Daffodils, and put in the Sunday collection. You can also bring your offering to the rectory by Tuesday, 19 February 2006.
Name: _________________________________ Parish No: _______ (optional)