Feb 18, 2012 / 15:42 pm
It began with a simple idea of providing candles to MUST Ministries in Marietta, Ga. for the homeless in hopes of keeping rats away while they slept in the streets.
Just two months later, the response and support of the parishioners at the Catholic Church of St. Ann in Marietta, Ga. has turned into a full-fledged ministry to help the less fortunate.
When St. Ann’s pastor Father Tom Reilly was approached during a liturgy meeting with the idea of collecting candles for the homeless, the priest felt that there had to be something more they could do to help. So he recorded a video message to be played during Mass throughout Advent, encouraging members to get involved in this budding ministry.
“I applaud MUST Ministries for doing this, but at the same time I was deeply affected by the thought of collecting candles so the light would keep rats away,” Father Reilly said in the message. “What has happened to us, as a country, a state and a world? … 16 percent of the homeless nationwide are veterans. In Georgia, that number is eight percent.”