Cande de Leon is the executive director of the Office of Mission Advancement.

Without a doubt the Holy Spirit is bringing communities together through an encounter with God’s love via the “Together Let Us Go Forth ~ Juntos Sigamos Adelante” campaign. Many of us involved in the campaign have witnessed the Spirit moving in the hearts of parishioners, calling them to give generously and, in the process, uniting families and parishes in a deeper way.

This generosity has expanded outside the boundaries of these parishes, into an increased sense of our larger Catholic family in our Diocese. So often we get caught up in focusing only on our own needs or the needs of our parish communities, that we forget about the many people in our greater community who are also in need.

Nothing illustrated this to me more clearly than a young girl at a parish which recently participated in the campaign. She was so moved by her pastor’s invitation to participate that she committed to give a portion of her allowance to the campaign. It amazes me to see parishes and families, like this girl, eager to help those in need, even their brothers and sisters in Christ whom they may never have meet.

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God is blessing the work of the campaign and the sacrifices of those who support it. Please join me in praying for every person in the diocese — our brothers and sisters in Christ — that this campaign can be a means to proclaiming the Gospel to those who have not yet heard it and bringing Christians to a deeper relationship with God.