Friday 1, November 2024
Archbishop Launches Annual Christmas Appeal
A few weeks after the official launch of the 2024 Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal for LifeLink, Pope Francis will also launch the eighth ‘World Day of the Poor’. Both are important events in the Church calendar – here locally, and globally, and have very similar goals.
We can be guided and inspired in our charitable efforts here at home by the message Pope Francis will share with Catholics around the world…
The prayer of the poor rises up to God”(cf. Sir 21:5).
In expressing his gratitude for the support demonstrated by the faithful, Pope Frances writes:
“The World Day of the Poor has become a fixture for every ecclesial community. It is a pastoral opportunity not to be underestimated, for it challenges every believer to listen to the prayer of the poor, becoming aware of their presence and needs. It is an opportune occasion to implement initiatives that concretely help the poor and to recognise and support the many volunteers who dedicate themselves passionately to those most in need. We must thank the Lord for the people who make themselves available to listen to and support the poorest among us.
As Rome prepares to welcome pilgrims from around the world for the 2025 Jubilee Year, this expression of biblical wisdom is most fitting. Christian hope embraces the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence – not just any prayer, but rather the prayer of the poor!” said Pope Francis.
Indeed, Christian hope embraces the certainty that our prayer reaches God’s presence; not just any prayer but rather the prayer of the poor,” he said.
The Holy Father urges us to reflect on this word and “read” it on the faces and in the stories of the poor whom we encounter daily, “so that prayer can become a path of communion with them and a sharing in their suffering.”
“God knows the sufferings of His children because He is an attentive and caring father,” said Pope Francis.
“As a father, He takes care of those who are most in need: the poor, the marginalised, the suffering and the forgotten. No one is excluded from His heart, for in His eyes, we are all poor and needy.”
In this year dedicated to prayer, we need to make the prayer of the poor our own and pray together with them. This is a challenge we must embrace and a pastoral activity that needs to be nurtured.
Through prayer, we commune personally and intimately with God, and our hearts are filled with His Love.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a woman who gave her life for the poor, continually repeated that it was from prayer that she drew the strength and faith for her mission of service to the least among us. When she spoke at the General Assembly of the UN on October 26, 1985, showing everyone the rosary she always held in her hand, she said: “I am only a poor sister who prays. By praying, Jesus puts his love in my heart, and I go to give it to all the poor I meet along the way. Pray too!
Pray, and you will notice the poor who are beside you. Perhaps on the same floor in your apartment building. Perhaps even in your houses, someone is waiting for your love. Pray, and your eyes will open, and your heart will fill with love,” said Mother Teresa.
Let this then be the inspiration for our Archdiocesan appeal. Let us follow the example of Mother Teresa.
Let us pray to God that He fill our hearts with His love, and together, share this love with our brothers and sisters in need.
Every day, our LifeLink agencies respond to so many desperate calls for help…
- ● from families and individuals unable to provide sufficient food or pay electricity, water or gas accounts.
- ● from single parents and victims of domestic violence unable to secure rental accommodation – forced to
- ● find temporary night-by-night offers or end up sleeping in their cars or on the street.
- ● pensioners unable to meet ever-escalating expenses seeking medical or other support.
- ● from people feeling isolated, alone and lonely.
Thousands of Western Australian families and individuals will reach out to a LifeLink agency for help this year. Our Church agencies will respond positively and immediately to provide professional services and support as best they can.
They are able to do so as a direct result of the generous support you give to this appeal.
Please, give generously to this appeal and help raise a minimum of $700,000 this Christmas.
The Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal will be launched in parishes throughout the Archdiocese on
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 November 2024.
2024 Archbishop’s Christmas Appeal Message
