You and I will probably have at least one meal today. On the go, at work, or at home, we will find something to eat.
Even if it is just a cup of soup and saltine crackers, that will be a feast compared to what some people will eat today, if they manage to find anything at all.
Innocent people in Ukraine continue to struggle for their freedom while thousands of refugees or those trapped near the front lines go hungry because of the brutal war.
Your Generous Support is Needed
You may remember me telling you about Father Romuald Zagurski, OFM, one of our Ukrainian friars who fills his white van with bags of food and other essentials. Then he makes weekly deliveries to elderly widows and families who have lost everything or are sheltering in their homes near the fighting.
As politicians are seeking a negotiated ceasefire, children are starving. Every day, older folks are found lifeless in the corners of what is left of their burned-out homes. Families near the fighting cannot even grow their own food. They are fearful of stepping outside and exposing themselves to danger.
Father Romuald often ends his day sitting behind the wheel of his empty van as the faces of hungry people flash in his mind again and again. He sees their hunger and feels their anguish. All he can do is pray for them.
Father Romuald Zagurski, OFM travels to villages near the fighting in Ukraine to deliver food to families.
Missionary friars help feed children at the Franciscan Nesakkaram school in India.
Help feed the poor in honor of “St. Anthony’s Bread”
I wonder what Saint Francis would think if he or his dear friend, Saint Anthony, were there in Ukraine. Did you know the two were quite close in real life? They shared an immense love for the poor and heard God’s call to serve people in need.
That is why I have come to you today. May I count on you to share your blessings through an offering to help feed the poor in honor of “St. Anthony’s Bread”?
Anthony of Padua joined the Franciscans because he heard God call him to a life of poverty. In this way, St. Anthony would experience what it truly means to be poor and hungry.
St. Anthony believed and proclaimed: “Actions speak louder than words! Let your words teach and your actions speak!” He lived by these words and invites us to follow his example. It is a choice each of us is asked to make.
The practice of “St. Anthony’s Bread” got its name from a favor received by a pious girl named Louise Bouffier who lived in France. She promised loaves of bread for the poor in exchange for St. Anthony’s help.
This miraculous answer to her prayers led to countless other favors being granted by St. Anthony to ordinary people who sought his help. They, too, promised offerings to lift the poor and feed the hungry in honor of St. Anthony.
Perhaps you have a favor to ask of St. Anthony as well. Today is an excellent day to seek answers to your own prayers or concerns!
Fr. Ivica Peric, OFM in Zambia is desperatly needs your help
I have also received urgent requests from our Franciscan missionary friars in Zambia and the Philippines.
The crops of maize planted in Zambia have failed. Maize is the basic staple for life in this African nation. Nearly half of the 17.4 million people living there are not eating the minimum number of calories a person needs daily just to survive. More than a third of all children have impaired growth and development due to severe hunger!
In some families, adults give up their one daily meal so the children have something to eat! Franciscan Father Ivica Peric, OFM tells me they desperately need your help to feed the kindergarten children and other students in school. The rain never comes, and nothing will grow. There is nothing to eat.
Fr. Ivica only needs $4,500 to establish a feeding program that will serve hundreds of children. Surely you can share a few dollars today to help get this program up and running.
Franciscan missionary delivering food and supplies in the Phippines.
Father Ivica Peric OFM feeding children at our Franciscan school in Zambia.
Help support flood victims in the Philippines
Franciscan Brother Nestor Catorce, OFM is working to provide food and medical assistance on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines. He tells me that the living conditions are “subhuman.” There are nearly 400 families who do not earn enough to buy food or pay for medicine, if they can even find them! Brother Nestor sent an emergency request for $7,768 to provide medical treatment, food, and other emergency supplies to help these families.
Not too far away, Father Daniel Borromeo, OFM is providing emergency assistance to the hundreds of families in the Philippine province of Maguindanao who have lost everything in severe flooding. These poor people are living in tents along the highway because that is the safest place for them!
Farming is the main source of income for the people. Their plentiful crops of rice, corn, and vegetables have been destroyed by the floods. Now they do not have the means to help themselves. They have no food, no homes, nothing! Fr. Daniel has submitted an emergency request for $6,500 to buy food and other emergency supplies for these flood victims.
On Olango, another island in the Philippines, our Brother Mark Bassallares, OFM is struggling to feed more than 250 senior citizens. Villagers rely on netting their daily meals from the sea, but many are too infirm to fish for long hours. Their age and health conditions severely limit their abilities. The few fish they do catch often feed the many hungry grandchildren left in their care by parents who must leave to find work off-island, miles from home. Br. Mark has requested $7,991 to purchase food and medical supplies to help these poor people.
Filippino flood victim
Flood victims in the Philippine province of Maguindanao living in tents alongside the roadway.
Renew your support for our Franciscan missions around the world and give the hungry their daily bread. From your hands to St. Anthony’s heart, your gesture of compassion will be rewarded greatly, I am certain!
With a very grateful heart,
Brother Andrew Brophy, OFM Executive Director
P.S. Our missionaries are blessed to bring Christ’s love to the poor. But it is YOU who send the friars forth through your prayers and generosity! Know that we pray for our friends and benefactors every day.
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