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CATHOLIC ACTION CENTER: Putting the Corporal Works of Mercy into Action
As Catholics, we strive to carry out the seven corporal works of mercy. Based on Matthew 25, they include: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, bury the dead, visit the sick, visit the imprisoned, and give alms to the poor.
The Catholic Action Center, or CAC, is living out the mission of many the corporal works of mercy in a very tangible way — “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.”
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“Our main goal is to provide food. We serve between 80-100 people daily. In the winter, it can go up to 180 people,” says parishioner Vanessa Gomez, who serves as a volunteer at the Catholic Action Center.
The parish is responsible for providing food for two meals each month at the center. Previously, parishioners were able to help serve meals, but due to the impact of COVID-19, meals are prepared and served by the people living at the CAC.
“The building has about 120 beds and it is usually pretty full,” Vanessa says. “In order to live there, they must also care for the building, as well. They clean and paint. They warm up the meals and serve them as well as cleaning up afterward.”
Since the parish is not able to serve their monthly dinners at the center, parishioners have been providing home-cooked food to the center for the meals. On the first and third Fridays of the month, they drop off the food to volunteers in the Cathedral of Christ the King parking lot and the volunteers bring it over to the center.
Vanessa encourages the parishioners to be creative in the meals they are generously providing.
“Make whatever you want!” she says. “We don’t want them to get bored with the food. Make a casserole as you would feed someone in your home! Everyone deserves a good meal.”
In addition to the need for more casseroles, the CAC can always use more coffee, creamer, and sugar. Vanessa adds that desserts are a special treat as well.
The support that the parish gives is greatly appreciated.
“The people really care for them,” Vanessa says. “You can tell by the way they cook and by the way they come when they do serve.”
In addition to providing meals, the CAC also helps to provide new clothing, shelter, and connection to important services. Vanessa shares that in the winter, the CAC could use more donations of blankets — all donations of clothing and blankets must be brand new.
Faith and community begin in the church, but we are called to extend this reach into the community and world as well. Helping to support this mission has a huge impact on bringing the love of Christ to others.
“The way I look at it, we are serving God,” Vanessa says. “We are doing it because they are our brothers and sisters in God. Sometimes, I believe that it is more important. When you are out of the church, it shows how spiritual and how much love and faith you have. You do not need to be in church to serve, you can do it in the streets. And when you practice what you learn in church outside of the church, it has value and meaning.”
Christ the King parishioner Carol Keslin serves with a resident of the Catholic Action Center.
The Catholic Action Center — we’re all in this together!
