We begin a year of life on a birthday, another year of marriage on an anniversary. We mark a year of service on a job, or an eligible year for a retirement plan, or even the year the doctor says will remain before the end of life. Maybe a year is not about time at all, but how we use it. Christmas can be a celebration of the birth of our savior, or just another occasion to send someone a greeting card. Some seasons seem naturally suited for acts of charity and works of mercy.
Thanksgiving is the time to give coats and gloves to the needy.
Advent is when we visit the nursing homes to sing carols for the residents. But the needy and the lonely have years as long as our own and that conclusion by a group of families at St. Philip Church in a small southern Indiana community has led to a noteworthy plan of action. The group of families, members of the Christian Family Movement, made the decision together that they would continue to support a needy family throughout the year. Their seasons would be shared with a family, people they have never met, through a contact person at Catholic Charities. These CFM families get together for a year's worth of meetings.