Give the Gift of Hope to the Missions

As Catholics, our faith tells us that Advent is a season of preparation. It’s a time to begin anew, to ready ourselves for the presence of the Christ Child in our hearts. Our society, however, pulls us in another direction and we find ourselves faced with the same question each year as Christmas approaches: what new ideas can we come up with for all those hard to please people on our lists?

At The Society for the Propagation of the Faith, we believe there is a better, more faith filled way to bring happiness to our loved ones as we celebrate the real meaning of Christmas: we can give the gift of hope to those who live in mission countries.

This year, please consider making an offering for our Christmas Mass and Enrollment cards.  Both are a great way to tell your friends, family, and the world that you love them and your Catholic faith. The offerings collected from our individual Mass cards are sent to priests in the missions who depend on these donations for their daily support – they receive no salary for their ministry. 

Our Enrollment cards provide a yearlong membership in The Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Members receive the spiritual benefits of being remembered in 15,000 Masses said every year by mission priests and a daily Mass said at the Vatican. By choosing to support the missions this Christmas, your gift helps untold numbers of people. Most obviously, our Mass and Enrollment cards benefit the intentions of the recipient. Your gift also makes it possible for the Good News of Jesus Christ to be spread in places like the new country of South Sudan.

After many years of civil war in the Sudan, a tenuous peace has been achieved as the country has divided.  Catholics are determined to live their faith, no matter the difficulties.  In the Archdiocese of Juba, one parish community cannot return to their church – the grounds are littered with unexploded land mines.  They will celebrate Christmas in an old cotton factory with only two brick walls, the others are made of thatch.  But celebrate they will!  Their Young Adult leadership meets weekly to prepare for the holidays and beyond – faith formation of their youth is a priority.  Though they have no classrooms per se, they meet under trees, sitting on the old spools from the cotton factory to listen to the Good News.  

To order your Christmas Mass and Enrollment cards - or any of our other Mass and enrollment cards - and give the gift of hope to the missions, go to our website, www.propfaithboston.org, call 617-542-1776, or email us at [email protected]

-Maureen Crowley Heil