I, too, found your letter to be a blessing today as I began to write an article for our parish weekend bulletin here in Merrill, WI.
My intention was to promote our CRS Fair Trade Program. How timely it was to read your letter tapping into the fears so many of us are feeling that may affect our own decisions to give as well as our national willingness to provide foreign assistance. I hope that you won’t mind being quoted in large excerpts from your letter which ties into the way the CRS Fair Trade Program works as part of the three-pronged approach. It truly is a creative response that honors the human dignity of those in need as I have been amazed to see first hand as part of a CRS Coffee delegation to Nicaragua. That experience is reinforced by consistent
messages in your monthly CRS briefings and Action Alerts. How encouraging to have such leadership in putting Catholic social teachings to work. God Bless CRS!

Gratefully,

Irene Mehlos
St. Francis Xavier Parish, Merrill, WI

Read your message with great spiritual
benefit.Bless you for your strength.
Thought I´d share a little poem,created upon
reading your communication.
I´m a Catholic peace linguist from Recife,
Brazil.Retired from the local Federal
University of Pernambuco.Currently President of the Board,Associação Brasil America
(www.abaweb.org)
Sincerely,
Francisco
Francisco Gomes de Matos,Emeritus Professor,
Universidade Federal de Perambuco.

FAITH IS IN THE AIR

a mini-poem dedicated to CRS
by Francisco Gomes de Matos
a Catholic peace linguist from Recife,BRAZIL

It´s a time of crisis,you say
and some people seem to despair
Remember,there is always a way:
GOD is showing us here and there

These are times of anxiety
for people in East and West
How can we act with propriety
and know what is really best?

By nurturing a sustained solidarity
and helping all those in serious need
Praying for a world of economic equality
Thanking the Lord for those we can feed