Last night for Thanksgiving I went over to the Kress’ home and spent time with their extended family and friends. Talk turned to a part of town that two of our friends lived in that was going downhill with increased crime and evil things.
 
I was familiar with the area from the years I volunteered with our parish’s St. Vincent de Paul society, as most of the people we helped lived in this area. I commented that most of the people we helped in SVdP were single mothers and asked, “What can we do as Catholics to help them?”, since earlier we had talked about the problems in giving hand-outs to beggars.
 
It was a good discussion, and I could see the problem from the different perspectives that people gave. It is not a black and white question, for Jesus wants us to help people, but giving them hand-outs forever without any improvement to their systematic problems does not really help them in the long-run.
 
I went home later that evening, and sitting on my counter was a pledge I had made to the Annuniciation Maternity Home in Georgetown, just north of Austin. I grew up in that town, and so when they recently opened up this home for mothers in crisis pregnancies, I was especially hopeful and thankful.
 

These women are in need of material help and protection as well as spiritual help. I imagine that most of the men with whom they conceived their babies are gone–men in need of St. Joseph’s prayers to turn to Christ and become the men He created them to be. How different would the world be if we men were devoted to God like St. Joseph was and is!
 
While we work on that challenge, I encourage you to consider giving to the maternity home to help these young mothers make a new start with their new babies.
 
Here is their Values statement:
Our mission is to live and exemplify the charism of the Annunciation of Mary depicted in the Gospel of Luke for pregnant women (ages 14 and up):
* by teaching that they are blessed and loved by God
* showing God’s unconditional love for them by providing housing, educational and enrichment opportunities
* by teaching faith in God’s will and plan for their lives.
Our services are offered without regard to religious belief, and we make no religious demands on those who come to us for help.
 
“And Blessed Mother, please pray for all your daughters, for protection, for faith, for strength, for love, for hope in God, and for God to bring these women good men like St. Joseph to be their husbands and fathers.”