The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages Catholics to serve as volunteers as part of their discipleship in Christ. The Conference stated that volunteering is seen as a way to grow in love of Christ because “the more we give, the more we receive.”
At Saint Brigid, we believe in collaborative ministry: our priests, deacons and lay faithful working together to build the Kingdom of God. Our Lord has blessed each of us with a unique set of gifts, skills, talents and resources so we can play a special role in building up that Kingdom here on earth. At this time, we invite additional volunteers to assist with our collaborative efforts.
This weekend we will have a Ministry Fair in Corbett Hall. Representatives of many of our parish ministries will be present after each of our Masses to explain the purpose of their respective ministries and to answer questions.
Many of us are busy people who want to assist in some way at our parish, while balancing family, work, and other responsibilities. As we strive to balance our responsibilities, we may quickly realize that it is often difficult to discern what God wants from us unless we spend some time communicating with Him. We are encouraged to spend time in prayer and to listen to hear if God is calling us to a more active, conscious participation in our parish.
In addition to prayer, to help us discern how we may place our talents at the service of God and His Church, we invite you to attend the Ministry Fair. We encourage you to prayerfully consider how you may more actively participate in a ministry that interests you. We invite those who may not have participated in any ministries in the past to consider participating in just one ministry for one year. Your involvement, even on a limited basis, can enhance the spiritual vitality of our Saint Brigid faith community, and also your own spiritual life.
The following “A Prayer for Abundant Blessings” provided by the media outlet “Strength in Prayer” asks God to bless the efforts of our volunteers:
O God, shower Your abundant blessings upon our Church volunteers.
May You reward their selflessness with an outpouring of Your grace.
Bless their endeavors, both seen and unseen, and fill their hearts with joy as they serve Your purpose.
We give thanks for their unwavering dedication.
Amen.
As we reflect on this prayer, we are encouraged to ask God what He may be calling us to do to enrich and strengthen our parish community as we continue on our journey of faith.