Cardinal Cushing talks "mission" to a packed Boston Garden, World Mission Sunday, 1953.
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In 1922, Father Richard Cushing began a ministry that became a lifelong love: he ran Boston's Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Even as the Archbishop of Boston, Cushing delighted in gathering people together to learn more about the missions and how they could help.
Because of his dedication, we named our Monthly Donor Club the Cardinal Cushing Club (CCC). The gifts from our monthly benefactors are like the biblical loaves and fishes in the hands of missionaries -- multiplied to become miracles to those in need.
Here's how.
Mission chapels are made from local mud bricks and timber. CCC members provide funding for metal roofs and cement altars that finish the structures.
Many people in the missions walk miles to get water. Club participants help missionaries bring clean water to rural villages, improving people's health and wellbeing.
Lay catechists bring faith formation to faraway outposts every week. CCC associates bless them with bicycles so they can ride the long distances between chapels.
Priests in the missions have little income. Regular benefactors help pay for hosts and wine to bring the Eucharist to their mission parishioners.
Here's what a few of our CCC members say about why they joined:
Anne in Brighton tells us, "I met Cardinal Cushing and was his driver once! He told me he had two loves: special needs children and the missions. I give $125 a month in honor of a man I admired and the causes he loved!" Anne met Cushing over 60 years ago and has made it possible for countless special needs children in the missions to live full lives.
Bill in Marshfield explains, "As a convert to Catholicism, I was lucky to have a clear path to the sacraments. I give $30 monthly so that people in the missions may walk that same road with greater ease." Bill's gift fills the fuel tanks of priests in the missions so they can bring the sacraments to their many outstations.
"My Faith Formation students sit in well-equipped classrooms," says Sarah of Bridgewater. "When I heard a missionary speak about holding classes outside, I knew I could make a difference in the faith lives of more students than just mine." Sarah's $15 a month helps to supply Bibles to students in the missions.
Jean from Chelmsford says, "Forty years ago, we started putting $5 a month in an envelope and we've never stopped!" Imagine how many children have been fed thanks to that sacrifice!
Join Anne, Bill, Sarah, Jean, and many others; become a member of the Cardinal Cushing Club today! Go to www.propfaithboston.org/become-a-monthly-donor to join. Help missionaries make miracles happen!
- Maureen Crowley Heil is Director of Programs and Development for the Pontifical Mission Societies, Boston.