spread the faith September 9-10

This month, the St. Augustine Catholic magazine begins its 16th year in publication. I want to thank you for supporting the magazine over the years, especially through the Catholic Communications Campaign collection that is taken up in all parishes of the diocese each September.
 
This year, we are changing the name of our collection to Help Spread the Faith - the Catholic Communications Appeal. The change better reflects our mission - to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. In today’s society, that’s a big challenge.
Many of our fellow Catholics have become disconnected from the life of the church.

They are inactive and do not practice their faith. How do we reach them? Several of our young adults and parents are ill equipped to pass on the faith to their children. How do we educate them on matters of the faith? How does the church and its message of salvation remain relevant in their lives?

The St. Augustine Catholic magazine has been one way for us to reach out to parishioners who have not been active. It serves as a tool to help form adult Catholics on the teachings and practices of the faith. The St. Augustine Catholic not only informs our people about Catholic news and events, but it inspires us all to engage in the life of Jesus and his church.

Your parish and the Diocese of Saint Augustine are partners in providing you and your family with the tools and resources you need to enrich your faith. Bishop Victor Galeone is committed to sending the St. Augustine Catholic to every
home each month - that’s 56,000 households.

By supporting your parish and diocese in the Help Spread the Faith Appeal, Sept. 9-10, you will enable us to carry out the evangelization in our parishes, diocese and nation. Your support ensures that the St. Augustine Catholic will continue to be sent to every home in the diocese. Your gift will ensure that we continue our presence on the Internet and speak powerfully about our practices and beliefs on television and radio—the U.S. bishops will continue their national evangelization efforts.

We are called to proclaim the Gospel from the mountaintop. With your support, we can use the power of the media to reach out with a positive message to people in our own parish - a message that we belong to someone. We belong to Jesus.

For those of you who receive envelopes from your parish, continue using the envelope marked for the Catholic Communications Campaign. Envelopes will also be inserted in the Sept. issue of the magazine. Pull it out and drop it in the collection basket at Mass or mail it to our diocesan offices.

Thank you for answering Christ’s call to evangelize.
The one-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma is quickly approaching. One year seems like a long time, but you would be amazed at the number of people that are still without a job, a place to live and have no where to go. Our cover story talks about one family’s struggle to recover from the aftermath of Katrina.

The staff and volunteers of Catholic Charities continues to help families who are in need. We also have an update on how the special collection for Katrina and other hurricanes was spent and how your generosity has helped many displaced families.

Our next issue will be in September. The issue will focus on the teens of our diocese. We will also announce the winners of our first annual essay contest, named in honor of the late Msgr. Joseph James - a working journalist before becoming a priest of the Diocese of Saint Augustine and a strong advocate for Catholic media.

– Kathleen Bagg-Morgan, editor