Dear Friends,

I want to thank each of you for your recent gifts to Golden Harvest Food Bank. Your act of love will last far beyond the time it took to write a check, or for the Food Bank to distribute the food to the hungry, or for a Mom to open the cereal box or open the can of vegetables she received: the love of God, as St. Paul says, “endures.”

 When my children were young I used to lay my hand on their heads, one by one, and pray a blessing on them before they went to sleep. So I thought that today, in this letter, I could do a similar thing for you.

 Lord God, I ask you to bless your friend because in giving to those in need they have proven their love of you and their faith in you, just as surely as the Centurion did in St. Mark’s Gospel when he said to Jesus, “Say but the word of command, and I know it shall be done.” Bless their family with health and safety. Let them be filled the spiritual riches of the Holy Spirit as they walk life’s journey. Bless them with continued faithfulness to your call on their lives so that, in the end, they may enjoy everlasting happiness with You in heaven. Amen.