Parishioners of the Dulce Nombre de Maria Agana Cathedral Basilica raised $2,500 during Lent to give to a family in need. Today, that money went to a family of three – a couple and their very young daughter – living in squalor and without power and running water.
The father walks around Yigo asking people to pay him to cut their yards. That’s the money the family uses to eat. Like so many who live on the fringes neither mom nor dad have a non-expired identification card; so they can’t even sustain food stamps benefits.
Monsignor James Benavente, the pastor of the Cathedral, instituted the Lenten Sacrificial Almsgiving collection, separate from the other collections, during Masses throughout the Lenten season. Almsgiving is one of the three pillars of Lent, according to the Catholic Church.
“Lent is a 40 day season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday,” according to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “It’s a period of preparation to celebrate the Lord’s Resurrection at Easter.”
For the Agana parishioners, part of their preparation was to sacrifice their money so that a poor family could have a better chance of surviving.
1 Comments
Annie Unpingco
05/05/2024 at 3:38 PM
Poverty is a real issue on our island and we all must help our less fortunate brothers and sisters especially those with young children dependent on their parents. Support to families such as this releases stress on parents that could lead to child abuse and neglect. Kudos to Agana Cathedral for this effort.
An organized alms giving would help on an on going basis. Please donate to Salvation Army, faith based organizations and other worthy cause organizations for families to turn to when help is needed.