Priests in Pakistan urge Catholics to serve less fortunate during Lent

(March 03,2009): - In Pakistan, priests are urging Catholics to do charitable work during Lent by visiting handicapped people and giving money to the poor. "Make a resolution to spend an hour weekly or monthly with disabled people," Father Andrew Nisari suggested to a gathering of 50 Catholics at a home for physically and mentally challenged people. "Healthy people can be a blessing to the less fortunate," said the vicar general of Lahore archdiocese to parishioners from Lahore's Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The March 1 visit to the Home of Love, run by Missionaries of Charity nuns, was the first of several visits that Father Nisari organized for Catholics during Lent. The priest has organized similar visits during the Lenten season over the past six years. This year, his visits will include a newly built Catholic church, a Catholic home for the destitute, and a center for blind people run by a Dutch non-governmental organization and administered by a lay board that includes Catholics and Protestants.