When Bishop Tobin kicked off the beginning of this year’s “Keep the Heat On” challenge, which he initiated almost 18 years ago upon coming to Providence, he encouraged the students of St. Cecilia School in Pawtucket to recall the blistering winters Rhode Islanders often experience. With the fuel and inflation crises, this year marks an especially crucial time to remember those in need.
As Advent recalls our interior preparation for the coming of Christ – the one shut out of a warm inn, and left to sleep outside among the animals – it should also instill a renewed love for the needy. The Church invites us to give alms not only in Lent, but throughout the entire year. Christian piety demands prayers for the poor; but charity also requires we meet their very crucial needs.
This winter, the Diocese of Providence takes up Bishop Tobin’s challenge to help those who are “Christ among us,” shut out in the cold, and needing a little more warmth this Christmas.
