St. Augustine, in a sermon on Lent, teaches that: “Through humility and charity, fasting and almsgiving, abstaining and forgiving, avoiding evil and doing good, our prayer seeks peace and achieves it.” (Sermon 206)
The Catholic Charity Appeal supports the many ministries and programs of the Diocese of Providence which provide social, educational and spiritual support to thousands of Rhode Islanders each year regardless of race, creed or background. We do not help people because they are Catholic, we do it because we are Catholic!
In his Farewell Address to the nation in 1796, President George Washington said: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports.”
May the Blessed Virgin, "Health of the Sick" and "Mother of the Living", be our support and our hope and, through the celebration of the Day of the Sick, increase our sensitivity and dedication to those being tested, along with the trusting expectation of the luminous day of our salvation, when every tear will be dried forever.
As Saint Pope John Paul the Great stated: “We are asked to love and honor the life of every man and woman and to work with perseverance and courage so that our time, marked by all too many signs of death, may at last witness the establishment of a new culture of life, the fruit of the culture of truth and of love.”
“The belief that truth exists, is permanent and knowable, and is worth pursuing and fighting for because it makes us free, is an affirmation of the goodness of life and the world’s loving Creator. This enduring passion for truth is the fire at the heart of all Catholic education, from the first day of First Grade forward throughout life.”