First Wednesday Volunteers

On the first Wednesday of every month a group of volunteers arrives at the national office of the Apostleship of Prayer to sort and stuff envelopes. Every month we send out about 22,000 leaflets which explain the Holy Father's two monthly intentions and offer suggestions for prayer. These go out in various quantities to about 3,650 individuals and institutions. We depend upon volunteers who generously give their time to put this mailing together.

Yesterday, at the beginning of the Mass we celebrate together before beginning the work, a woman and five children arrived. One of the children, an eighth grader named Redmond, had organized his sisters and brother and grandmother into this family volunteer group. Redmond and his siblings attend Mercy Academy and they were on spring break this week. Every year a local retired school teacher gives us a donation and asks us to send leaflets to several local private Catholic schools. Redmond's teacher had passed those leaflets out and he in turn went on our web site where he learned about our need for volunteers. He called, found out about the first Wednesday group, and asked his grandmother to drive the youngsters to our office so they could help us out for a couple hours.

A friend of mine calls things like this "a web of grace." Though I periodically celebrate Mass at Mercy Academy, it was the leaflet that the retired teacher had us send out which landed in the hands of Redmond which led him to go on our web site which led him to organize his family to volunteer. Truly grace spreads, and we are all instruments of God's grace for others.