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One of the great
benefits of our website is the opportunity to learn what various
chapters of our Order are doing. This month, thanks to hard work
of Jill Ortiz, we are able to get a look at the vibrant, dedicated
work of the Orange County Chapter. Their members are serving the
sick and the poor in a variety of ways, and are nurturing the faith
of Catholics in their area, as these brief reports demonstrate:
Saint
Joseph Hospital - Orange County, California
The
Order of Malta, through St. Joseph Hospital
of Orange, implements their sacred obligation
to “practice charity to our neighbors,
the poor and the sick”. Our personal
sanctification is further enhanced by our
participation in the distribution of the
Holy Eucharist to the sick. Charlie Kovac,
Terrance Barry and Mike McLean served over
150 hours in 2006. Other hours were donated
to be “victims” in Saint Joseph’s
Annual Disaster Drill.
Mercy
House - Orange County, California
Mercy
House is a new opportunity for our members
to “serve the poor and the sick”.
On the first workday, 19 Knights, Dames
and auxiliary members, assembled a month
supply of “Hygiene Bags” and
1000 bags of daily essentials. Bill O’Connell’s,
KM stellar response in assisting the Order
in quality sourcing of the components was
invaluable and extremely appreciated! Chapter
members financed and served a Thanksgiving
meal to approximately 250 clients and residents
of Mercy House on November 20, 2006. The
Chapter plans to “adopt” Mercy
House client families for Christmas gifting.
Dinner
with our Bishops and Abbot
A
beautifully spiritual mass, celebrated
by Abbot Eugene Hayes, O. Praem at St.
John the Baptist parish church in Costa
Mesa preceded the annual “Dinner
with Our Bishops and Abbot” on September
8 th. This year’s event was extremely
successful with the highest attendance
yet of Knights, Dames, religious leaders
and guests who look forward to this special
occasion of friendship and fellowship within
our diocese. A special treat was the performance
of baritone Robbie Britt, whose heart-felt
renditions of “Ave Maria”, “Battle
Hymn of the Republic” and “God
Bless America” received a standing
ovation.
St.
Jude Hospital Drive-through Flu Clinic
The
annual St. Joseph’s Hospital drive-through
flu clinic for seniors was held on November
4, 2006. Several OC members participated
in this workday. We helped with all aspects
of this clinic with the exception of giving
the actual shots! We directed traffic,
checked in participants, and asked the
necessary questions before they could receive
their shots.
Catholic
Charities Doris Cantlay Center
In
continuing the tradition established several
years ago at Catholic Charities of Orange
County, the Order of Malta Orange County
Chapter will be providing and distributing
500 turkeys and all the “fix’ins” to
our less fortunate brothers and sisters
in Orange County. The wonderful program,
which each year is held on the Tuesday
before Thanksgiving, started with a very
modest beginning and has now developed
into a very important annual project for
the Orange County Chapter. We are planning
on the participation of at least 20 Knights,
Dames, provisionals and volunteers to distribute
this years Thanksgiving dinner. In addition
to the annual Thanksgiving dinner, we also
get together to bag rice and beans to be
used in their weekly food distribution
program.
Growing
the Faith
A
date was set with Judy Bloom, the Principal
of the School of Our Lady in Santa Ana,
to visit each class and present a rosary
to each child. We chose the month of October
as it is the month of the Rosary. A group
of four went to the school: Ron Clark,
a provisional Knight; Tom Markel, a Knight;
Helene Markel, a volunteer and Regina Hunsaker,
a Dame.
Together
we visited each class and after presenting
each student with our rosary packet, we
explained a little about the Order of Malta
and spoke about our Blessed Mother and
the words used in the Hail Mary prayer.
The dialogue depended upon the grade level,
the questions and the different aspects
of our discussion. We were impressed by
the students and their questions. We could
feel the Holy Spirit in our midst and we
left knowing that the School of Our Lady
appreciated our presence.
In
the future, we plan to attend an Advent
activity involving the whole school, and
during Lent a very special Stations of
the Cross to be acted out by the 8 th Grade
students during Lent. We plan on keeping
a visible presence in this small but very
important school.
Parish
Nurse Luncheon and Program
As
we conclude the third year of our Parish
Nurse Program, we look back with gratitude
on how well the seniors we serve have responded.
This year, we have served at our quarterly
luncheons and lectures over 500 seniors
averaging over 100 for each luncheon and
a record 200 who attended the last luncheon
in October.
Mary's
Kitchen
Four
times a year, we prepare and serve lunch
to the clients of Mary’s Kitchen.
This is always a rewarding workday for
our volunteers. The clients, who are homeless,
appreciate our efforts and always have
a big smile and a thank you for us. In
2006, 39 Knights, Dames and volunteers,
donated 266 work hours for this program.
Lourdes
Day
We
were thrilled with the turnout for our
second “Lourdes Day” Realizing
that not everyone can participate in our
pilgrimage to Lourdes, we invited past
malades, malade applicants and their companions
to join members of the OC Chapter as we
brought Lourdes to them. Abbot Eugene Hayes
and Father Charbel from St. Michael’s
Abbey led our spiritual day. The blessings
were enhanced by the music of Sister Jennifer
from the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center.
Members of the OC Auxiliary prepared and
served our lunch.
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