Fundraising Letter for 2018 Advent Season
I cannot save and help all the poor people in this world, but I can help the poor that I meet in front of my eyes and, therefore, there is one less poor person. (Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta)
My dear CVK KMF friends, supporters and benefactors:
The above spoken words from Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta, on one hand, encourage us not to despair in the face of the vast ocean of misery and the too great a number of poor people in this world and, on the other hand, demonstrate to us how to act in a concrete way at this very moment, now and here: it is to provide assistance in the presence of a poor person.
Throughout her entire life, Mother Teresa saw Lord Jesus Christ on the face of each poor, destitute, sick and disabled, unwanted, forgotten and abandoned by society, and foremost, those in agony on roadsides. She has always approached to be at their sides to take care of them, take them back and feed them under her roof of love to give them a gentler death, surrounded by her love and that of the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charities.
All saints saw in others the living figure of Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Father Francis considers the poor and destitute brothers and sisters, forgotten and jettisoned to the sides by society as the Lord Jesus Christ’s flesh and body. He is not stopping to encourage everyone to step out of oneself and one’s easy and comfortable life to meet these brothers and sisters in surrounding areas and in big cities slums and from all over this earth.
He teaches us to act in accordance with the words spoken by Lord Jesus to his disciples more than 2000 years ago:
“.. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25, 40).
The Holy Father even founded the International Day of The Poor and, in his sermon during last year celebration mass, he strongly asserted: “the poor provide us a passport to the door of paradise. Through the poor, Lord Jesus knocks on the door of our heart, thirsty of our love. Ignoring this appeal is a capital sin toward the poor. This attitude has an exact name: indifference. Whoever tries to accumulate treasures doesn’t get enriched in the eyes of the Lord. We all are beggars, principally, for God’s gift of love, the meaning of life and an endless life.
Loving the poor means being against all poverty in spirit and material…Let us be on guard on succumbing to the temptations of being indifferent to those in difficult situations by thinking that the situations are none of our concerns, that they are not ours, and that they are society shortcomings. This is the attitude of turning our head away while our brothers are in need of assistance, changing the “tuning dial” when facing a serious situation that bothers us, even becoming angry at a bad situation but doing nothing. But God won’t ask us whether we got angry at the right situation but whether we did good deeds.
Each of us has received many talents in various material and spiritual forms. We need to invest and develop them for God’s and others’ benefits, especially for the poor.
The Holy Father Francis has asserted to all his faithful attending last year International Day of The Poor mass: “We have the duty of being concerned and taking care of our brothers and sisters that are poor and destitute. They are our true richness by sharing the daily bread and the bread of God’s words…To go and be with those poorer than us would touch our life and remind us of the true importance of loving God and others. This is the only everlasting thing, everything else would disappear. Therefore, what we invest in love will exist, everything else will disappear.
Since the year 2000, we have been following the example of Mother Saint Teresa of Calcutta and acting on the above teachings of the Holy Father Francis, each of us in his or her own conditions and situations. Let’s join in our wish to become firmer believer of the Lord Jesus’ teachings and of the Holy Father’s reminders to continue opening our arms to the little, poor and destitute brothers and sisters who are the wounded body and flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ!
In the name of the brothers and sisters who are poor and miserable, weak, and handicapped, the orphans and, especially, the lepers in Kontum Diocese, the Kontum Mission Foundation (KMF), with a deep gratitude, would like to thank our friends and benefactors. May God greatly reward each of you for your largess and we wish our friends and benefactors a pious Advent Season and a new 2019 year full of happiness and God’s grace.
Please consider your donations to the less fortunate people in Kontum by one of the followings:
- Donate Online at: helpkontum.org
- Direct deposit to Bank of America: Routing # 026009395
Account # 3250 4853 3887
- Make checks or money orders payable to Kontum Missionary and Friendship
and mail to:
Thanh Pham
9108 Caladium Avenue
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
Rome the 30thof October 2018
Msgr. Joseph Thang Minh Hoang
Representative of the KMF Executive Committee
Documents/2018 Advent Season Appeal_Eng.final.pdf
