News / Religion
Redcliff's Catholic Church St Vincent de Paul Donates to Needy
23 Nov 2015 at 07:17hrs | Views
REDCLIFF - In a society where individualism has taken root at the expense of charity, where the needy and underprivileged are ignored, Redcliff residents were last weekend reminded that there was still hope for love.
This was shown by the Redcliff's Roman Catholic Church's St Vincent de Paul order that donated goods to several underprivileged and needy members of their community last Saturday at their parish Church
The group's leader, Mr John Magen'a, emphasised the need for the church to reclaim its rightful place in society where its main mandate was not just to feed people spiritually, but also physically.
Although he lamented the small number of recipients, he pledged that more would be done in the future, as more resources are available.
The donated goods comprised mainly of foodstuff, such as mealie meal, sugar, and others.
The recipients, who were draw from the Redcliff community, comprised of the disabled, sick, widowed, and the poor.
Some of the recipients who spoke to this reporter expressed great joy at such a gesture by the Catholic Church.
'I had an operation three months ago, and was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. I have been finding life very difficult to cope with as I do not have anyone else to help me financially.
'I truly am thankful to God and the Catholic Church for what they have done. I pray that God blesses them so that they may bless more people,' said a visibly gratefully delighted elderly widow who was one of the recipients.
Another recipient was nearly in tears as she could not believe the blessing that she had just received.
'I never thought there were still such people around. With everyone complaining about the economic hardships the country is going through, people had become so hard-hearted and uncaring for the needy, only thinking of themselves.
'Even our youth do not even care if there is an elderly person standing in the same queue as them. They will never allow the elderly to be served first. We now have such a selfish generation.
'But is it so encouraging to see that love still has a chance in our society. That the elderly are still being remembered. I'm so overjoyed. There is still hope for us,' she said.
Some of the recipients were represented by grandchildren, as they were now finding it difficult to walk.
One of the grandchildren urged the corporate world and the community, at large, to work together with such organisations in resource mobilisation, so that many more needy and underprivileged people could be assisted.
'Helping the needy is a noble gesture. I just urge everyone to play a part in the upliftment of the lives of the poor and needy.
'It doesn't take much to help. One can even bring a dollar as a donation. Imagine if everyone of the 70 000 residents of Redcliff donated a dollar every month, there would be US$70 000 to help the needy and poor every month,' he proposed.
The St. Vincent de Paul order was named after a 16th century Roman Catholic Church priest, who was born in France on April 24, 1581 and died on September 27, 1660. He was canonised in 1737.
This was shown by the Redcliff's Roman Catholic Church's St Vincent de Paul order that donated goods to several underprivileged and needy members of their community last Saturday at their parish Church
The group's leader, Mr John Magen'a, emphasised the need for the church to reclaim its rightful place in society where its main mandate was not just to feed people spiritually, but also physically.
Although he lamented the small number of recipients, he pledged that more would be done in the future, as more resources are available.
The donated goods comprised mainly of foodstuff, such as mealie meal, sugar, and others.
The recipients, who were draw from the Redcliff community, comprised of the disabled, sick, widowed, and the poor.
Some of the recipients who spoke to this reporter expressed great joy at such a gesture by the Catholic Church.
'I had an operation three months ago, and was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. I have been finding life very difficult to cope with as I do not have anyone else to help me financially.
'I truly am thankful to God and the Catholic Church for what they have done. I pray that God blesses them so that they may bless more people,' said a visibly gratefully delighted elderly widow who was one of the recipients.
'I never thought there were still such people around. With everyone complaining about the economic hardships the country is going through, people had become so hard-hearted and uncaring for the needy, only thinking of themselves.
'Even our youth do not even care if there is an elderly person standing in the same queue as them. They will never allow the elderly to be served first. We now have such a selfish generation.
'But is it so encouraging to see that love still has a chance in our society. That the elderly are still being remembered. I'm so overjoyed. There is still hope for us,' she said.
Some of the recipients were represented by grandchildren, as they were now finding it difficult to walk.
One of the grandchildren urged the corporate world and the community, at large, to work together with such organisations in resource mobilisation, so that many more needy and underprivileged people could be assisted.
'Helping the needy is a noble gesture. I just urge everyone to play a part in the upliftment of the lives of the poor and needy.
'It doesn't take much to help. One can even bring a dollar as a donation. Imagine if everyone of the 70 000 residents of Redcliff donated a dollar every month, there would be US$70 000 to help the needy and poor every month,' he proposed.
The St. Vincent de Paul order was named after a 16th century Roman Catholic Church priest, who was born in France on April 24, 1581 and died on September 27, 1660. He was canonised in 1737.
Source - Tendai Ruben Mbofana
