by Fr. Justin Fulton
“Look what my friend gave me today. My heart is full. Tomorrow I am four years sober by the Grace of God. Thank you for everything!!!!”
- A text from a former St. Gianna Women’s Home Client to Sister Bernadette at St. Gianna’s
Let’s hear it for one of our former residents at St. Gianna Women’s Homes (SGWH)! She is celebrating a monumental achievement. She is safe. She is clean. She is sober. She is giving thanks to God! And here is her picture she sent to Sister Bernadette at SGWH. Our former client is celebrating the Nativity of Jesus Christ! She gives thanks and praise to whom thanks and praise are due! She is living greatly and she is a role model for all of us in faith and courage. We are proud of her, and we give thanks to God for her life and her faith.
Our former resident at SGWH was helped by your prayers and support. Our sisters and the community at SGWH helped her as well. She is a living icon of perseverance and hope. In a way, she has lived Advent and Christmas in her very life. She gave her life to Jesus and asked Him to help her. She waited for His coming. She found Him. He was always close to her. And His love and grace helped her and continues to sustain her. Their relationship is strong and Eternal.
During Advent, we are called to give Jesus our worries, fears, frustrations, and anxieties. We wait in hope for His coming at Christmas. This weekend in the Church we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent: Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete Sunday calls us to rejoice in the joy that He is coming to us at Christmas.
The employees at Catholic Social Services of Southern Nebraska thank you for your prayers and your support. The employees, staff, and volunteers of CSS invite you all to slow down, pause, reflect, and pray on where Jesus is in your life. See His hand in all things. Give Him your fears, anxieties, troubles, and worries. Be silent. Listen. He is there and He is coming in a poignant way this Christmas.
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.
To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!’
Amen.
-Henri Nouwen
