NOTES FOR SPEAKING
(NB: These are intended as a guide. Feel free to adapt to your own purposes and style.)
Good morning/evening.
Thank you Father _____ for the opportunity to speak to you for a few minutes today.
{Introduce yourself}
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter in which we traditionally focus on prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is a time of the year when we consider more concretely how we share the love of God with our neighbours – both at home and in the global community.
During Lent, New Zealand’s Catholic Bishops invite us to provide for the needs of the poor through the work of Caritas – the Catholic agency for Justice, Peace and Development. Caritas can be translated as “love in action”. Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand is a member of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of Catholic charity and justice organisations present in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
Caritas supports community development projects in the Pacific, Asia and Africa. It funds emergency relief work following disasters such as the recent Typhoon Hagupit in the Philippines. It undertakes advocacy such as making submissions to parliament, pointing out to decision-makers the impact of policies on people suffering from poverty and injustice at home and abroad. Our education team works with Catholic schools to develop young peoples’ understanding and commitment to justice and peace.
This year’s Lent materials focus on the Philippines around the theme of “Light a fire in the heart of the world”. A theme which is taken from Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation EvangeliiGaudium.It asks us to be witnesses at all times and in all places to the joy and hope of the Gospel.
Caritas was among the first responders to both Typhoons Bopha and Haiyan which struck the Philippines in 2013. The huge loss of life and destruction of property caused by these storms made us want to build back better so that people will be protected when the typhoon season blows in again. And this is what happened.
When Typhoon Hagupit, which has the local name Ruby, struck the Philippines in December last year, casualties from the storm were reduced largely because aid organisations like Caritas have been working with government and communities to prepare for emergencies.
Money raised though the Bishops’ Lent Appeal helps us to fund both our development and emergency work. There are many ways that you can donate to the Lent Appeal. You can donate each week using this pack of six envelopes {hold up envelopes}. Or if you’d rather make a single donation, then use the ‘single Lent donation’ envelope {hold up envelope}. These can be returned through your parish’s weekly collection or posted directly to Caritas in the self-addressed, freepost envelope included in the pack.
However, many people now prefer to donate online, and you can do that by visiting to pay by credit card, or get Caritas’ bank account details to make a direct transfer from your own account.
Caritas has many very loyal supporters who contribute regularly – we sincerely thank you for that. We hope that you will all make contributing to the Lent Appeal part of your practice during Lent. If you are unable to make a donation, we would still appreciate you taking a set of envelopes, so that you can join us in praying for the work of Caritas. Each weekly envelope features a Caritas project and a prayer for that week. You may also like to consider using the Caritas Lenten Reflection Programme {hold up a programme} to pray with the gospels as a group or as an individual.
If you have any questions or comments please come and see me after Mass I’ll be happy to help you. Thank you for being part of the work of Caritas. Thank you for helping us to light a fire in the heart of the world.