Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/620610
Winter 2016 — www.ncsf.com 5 LOVE IS FORGED AND GROWS! As I read various accounts of Pope Francis' visit to the United States in September 2015, I am again struck by how often his message and our fraternal mission are interlaced. For instance, at the Vigil Mass of the World Meeting on Families, Pope Francis' message included: "Love is something we learn; Love is something we live; Love grows as it is 'forged' by the concrete situations which each particular family experiences." Relating the Pope's words to our fraternal identity, I recognize the many ways we fraternalists live this message of love. And, while we are living it, we help others learn how to also enjoy a life that is better because it is infused with love and service. NCSF members and their families are continually encouraged to be other- centered and live love in specific concrete situations. Every issue of our magazine has multiple pages that provide a testimony to the many ways that our members allow love to grow and be forged in their own communities. Some members help with fund- raisers as part of our Hearts and Hands program. As other people observe their dedication and selfless involvement, love grows in that community. When members extend a gesture of care and concern to the elderly or homebound, their community is a better place because of the kindness shown. There are members who prefer to be behind the scenes to do the planning and preparations; there are members who pray for the well-being of others. All of these things are concrete ways that love is forged and grows. At a time when people are at risk for becoming more and more isolated, little gestures of care and concern are a soothing balm for loneliness and separation. Taking the opportunity to do something for others, whether they are family members or strangers, fits perfectly with Pope Francis' (and Jesus') teaching. As Francis said at the closing Mass of the World Meeting on Families in Philadelphia: "Like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures…quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children, by brothers, by sisters. … Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love." God is love; where there is love, there is God. It is a simple as that. For 125 years, National Catholic Society of Foresters members have been helping to "spread the love" – and that is a tremendous thing for the good of their families, their communities, and the whole world. NATIONAL PRESIDENT MARGARET (PEGGY) SCHMITT National President's Message Dear Members of the National Catholic Society of Foresters,