Faith

Maureen Crowley
Heil

As Christmas draws near, we take time to reflect on God's many blessings -- including those of friends like you whose kindness and compassion supports the Church's missionary work in the poorest and most remote areas of the globe.
As you and I prepare to joyfully celebrate the birth of Christ, there are innumerable people around the world who are struggling to survive amidst turbulent and challenging circumstances -- including the people of Burkina Faso. This small, impoverished country in West Africa is home to over 20 million people, nearly half of whom are children in desperate need of assistance.
Burkina Faso has endured years of political instability and escalating violence, pushing over 1.2 million people from their homes. Among them are hundreds of thousands of children who've lost their homes, their schools, and their very sense of physical safety.
Coulibaly Felicien, in the Diocese of Nouna where the situation is particularly dire, is one of them.
He recalls: "One evening, on our way home from school, some armed men stopped us. They told us to tear up our notebooks, then they burned our backpacks and our school as well." Forced to flee his home, Coulibaly's dreams of continuing his education seemed impossible.
Thanks to generous Catholics like you, Bishop Joseph Sama of Nouna is providing children with material sustenance; he is also implementing programs that nurture the souls of these young survivors, teaching them the values of peace, love, and community, even in the face of unimaginable adversity. But there remain countless more children denied the chance to reclaim their future.
One in four children in Burkina Faso is starving. Half of the children are forced into child labor. Making sure that each child in his diocese has a full meal on Christmas day is a seemingly overwhelming task, but Bishop Sama is facing it head on: "These children have already suffered so much... Christmas day, we hope, will allow them to witness a Christmas miracle with a nutritious meal and a day of celebration -- a palpable reminder that they are not forgotten."
Your donations help to sustain our missionaries who strive daily to bring the merciful love of God to the world's most vulnerable population: our children. Today -- at a time of year when we are reminded that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness -- I humbly ask you to continue your commitment to the missions by making a Christmas donation to The Society for the Propagation of the Faith.
Whatever the size of your gift, I thank you for helping us make this a season of true hope, peace, joy, and
love for children who need it the most.

- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.

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