Being thankful

Details: 27 November 2013

I recently received this thank you letter from someone who lives west of the Iowa/Missouri border, east of the Colorado border, north of the Kansas border and south of the Platte River. “Dear Father Kubat: I just wanted to say thank you for the help I received from Catholic Social Services to get my car repaired. I will always be grateful. It was our family’s only car, and my daughter had to get to school and work. I had no way to pay for such expensive repairs, and I felt hopeless … I will definitely tell people that we know that Catholic Social Services is a worthy place to donate money to, and that I felt the love of God through your organization. Hopefully someday I can pay you back, but in the meantime, I will pray for your efforts. May God bless you and the people you work with.”
This is one of the many thank-you letters mailed to me outlining the love of Jesus Christ people receive because of our generous donors. Because of you, we are able to touch countless individuals and families that come to us in crisis. For this I will be eternally grateful. Whether it is help with rent, utilities, a grant for counseling services for someone who is un-insured or under-insured, food, clothing, or some other service that we provide, our goal is to love Jesus Christ who is present in them as they see the face of Christ in us.
We recently gave a car to a woman at St. Gianna’s who was walking six miles round trip to work. It was donated by a generous and loving man. The car belonged to his late wife. When the young mother saw her ‘new’ car, she was overwhelmed with emotion and tears of joy. We were able to purchase her an auto insurance policy to get her started. She now is able to drive to work and take her two children to wherever they need to go.
I know that when these two mothers sit down at the dinner table during Thanksgiving Day, they will thank God for the generous people who made the repairs to one vehicle and the gift of another possible. I would also like to re-iterate their gratitude as well. We at Catholic Social Services are most grateful and pray for our benefactors on a daily basis.
I would like to thank those who donated the many turkeys and other food items either individually or through one of our many Thanksgiving food drives. Because of your love and generosity, many families will be able to enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings.
As we gather this upcoming holiday with family and friends, let us not forget to thank God the Father for the greatest gift ever given, the gift of His Son to us who came as a little baby at that first Christmas. He came to die so we could all live – eternally with Him and all of the angels and saints. Let us not forget to thank God for all He has given us and will give us.