Today is Gaudete Sunday, a day to rejoice! We are midway through Advent and Christ is near! Today’s readings offer reassurance us that Christ is especially near to those we serve in Catholic Charities and other social outreach ministries, and near to us when we participate in that work which he has anointed us to carry out.

As helpers, we feel the weight of the world on our shoulders. We internalize the pain and the suffering of those we encounter. We take on their challenges as our own and measure our success by their outcomes. Our work is so personal that it can be easy to forget that it isn’t our work at all, but God’s work entrusted to us. It is the Lord who feeds the hungry, sets the captives free, restores sight to the blind, and who sustains the widow and the orphan. We have the privilege to participate in his plan each time we show mercy to our neighbors, spreading God’s love in word and deed. Through Christ, we have the promise of everlasting joy.

We have been anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor whom he has entrusted to our care, and for that we rejoice.

Allison Cavazos is the Director of Advancement for Catholic Charities of Central Texas in Austin and serves as a member of the CCUSA Parish Social Ministry Leadership Team.