Gift of Goodness | Rebecca: An Act of Love
PRAYER: Lord Our God, You are the source of all. Accompany us this Advent as we prepare for the coming of Jesus. Guide us and lead us Lord as we use our gifts of goodness to work as one to create the world you want. Awake in my heart hope, peace, love and joy this Advent. We ask this prayer in Your name, Amen.
When crisis or disadvantage enters people’s lives they often don’t know how to make a start with solving their problems. CatholicCare runs a service available free to all called CCareline. One counsellor, Rebecca, wrote how working at CCareline is an act of love.
“Every day I do my best to give people hope that things will be OK. Sometimes people call when they are lonely and need a chat. I find that there are many elderly people in our community who are isolated in their homes, and they need someone to talk through their worries with.
Often people will call when they are at crisis point. Not long ago we received a phone call from a school principal who wanted to help a family but didn’t know what to do. There were four kids in the family, aged 5, 7, 10 and 13. The family had moved to Australia from overseas and they didn’t have any local friends or family to help them out. The five and seven-year-old were having troubles at school, and the mother was very worried about them. The family was also at risk of losing their home because they could not afford to pay rent. Once the principal got in touch with us we were able to link the family in with services to help them get back on their feet. We made sure that the family had somewhere safe and secure to live, and that the children could focus at school without worrying about issues at home.”
The CCareline team also visits elderly people needing assistance in their homes to tailor services to their unique needs, providing a single contact from first telephone call until services are established.
The team at CCareline have the best job in the world… they get to help people who are looking for help. Giving people the help they need is an act of love.
REFLECT
- Rebecca shows love by listening and helping others. How do you show God’s love to others?
- What have you done to share the spirit of Advent with others this year?
- How can you open your heart to receiving God’s love this Advent?
- How can I show love to my neighbours this Advent?
- What are you most proud of this Advent?
SEE, JUDGE ACT
See
- What exactly is happening?
- What is it doing to the people?
- Why is this happening?
Judge
- What do you think about all this?
- What do you think should be happening?
- What does your faith say?
Act
- What exactly is it that you want to change?
- What actions are you going to take now?
- Who can you involve in your action?
Many Sydney families need extra help at Christmas time. Some can’t afford even the most basic food items to make a healthy meal, let alone Christmas dinner. And some need extra assistance because their family is in crisis at Christmas time. This year the good people at Harris Farm Markets are helping us provide nutritious Christmas Hampers for the many people who call CCareline needing food and help. You can give a Gift of Goodness by collecting money for hampers and by sending messages of love to families facing hardship.
giftofgoodness.com.au
This feature is a part of the 2018 Advent Calendar, which is available to download for free as an app.
Download on iPhone: http://bit.do/adventiphone
Download on iPad: http://bit.do/adventipad
Download on an Android phone: http://bit.do/adventandroid
Download on an Android tablet: http://bit.do/adventandroidHD