Bags of Love 2023
BAGS OF LOVE 2023
21st year of feeding a family at Christmas
The fact that this is the 21st year of Bags of Love is a testament to the great big giving heart of our parish. Last year our parish generously supported this campaign, and we distributed an astonishing 645 bags in total. This year we will again support our neighbouring communities of Hout Bay and Steenberg, and if possible depending on the number of Bags realised, extend it to other needy parishes, as we did last year.
COLLECTION DEADLINE
Please bring in your bags to the Parish office or the Church on or by the weekend of 10 December.
HOW IT WORKS
Shopping list
The shopping list below has been compiled by experts and is designed to feed a family of 4 for a week. People are asked to fill a bag only with the items on the list. As much as one is tempted to add in extra goodies, it can cause consternation if bags are not the same.
- 1 kg x Sugar
- 1 kg x kg Rice
- 1 kg x Mielie Meal
- 1 x can of Mixed vegetables
- 1 x can of Baked beans
- 1 x can of Pilchards
- 1 x jar Peanut butter
- 1 x jar of Jam
- 1 x pack Soya mince
- 500 g x bag of Brown lentils
- 1 x Biscuits
- 1 x small box of Tea bags
- 1 x bag of Sweets
3 WAYS TO PARTICIPATE
1. Buy a bag and fill it
Collect a bag after Mass or from the Parish Office and fill it with the items from the shopping list. Each bag is a R10 donation.
2. Fill your own bag
Use your own sturdy and recyclable bag and fill it with items from the shopping list.
3. Donation
If you are unable to get out to do the shopping, or for your convenience, you can make a monetary donation to Bags of Love and we will do the shopping for you. The estimated value of all the items on the list is R300. Please send your donation, ideally via EFT, to Parish bank account – details below.
Constantia Catholic Church
Standard Bank
Branch 025 309
Current Account No 07 169 8965
REF: Bags of Love
MAKE IT PERSONAL WITH A GIFT TAG
This year we have again created gift tags which add an important and meaningful personal touch to our giving. Please take a gift tag and write your own special message to a family. Then please securely attach the gift tag to your bag.
If you are making a monetary donation, you can also send a gift tag. Please just take a tag at the back of the church and write your message. Drop the tag into the box provided and we will be sure that your message is delivered. If this is not possible, we will ensure that all bags have a gift tag.
In his address on World Day of the Poor (19 Nov 2023), the Pope said "The poor are persons; they have faces, stories, hearts and souls. They are our brothers and sisters, with good points and bad, like all of us, and it is important to enter into a personal relation with each of the
CHILDREN
Bags of love is a great activity for children. Let them take the list, do the shopping, fill the bags and bring them to the church. It is a great way for children to learn about and to feel compassion for the poor, and to be grateful for their blessings.
MORE INFORMATION
If you have any questions please contact Parish Office or Rod Norman via Parish Office.
PRAYERFUL GIVING
When filling bags let us do it with a prayer - a prayer for those who are struggling, a prayer for the poor, a prayer to alleviate poverty and hunger in our world and a prayer of thanks for all our blessings, big and small!
The Pope has said much about our responsibility for the poor this year. Below is taken from the Pope's Homily on 14 November, World Day of Prayer for the Poor.
"We are part of a history marked by tribulation, violence, suffering and injustice, ever awaiting a liberation that never seems to arrive. Those who are most wounded, oppressed and even crushed, are the poor, the weakest links in the chain. The World Day of the Poor which we are celebrating asks us not to turn aside, not to be afraid to take a close look at the suffering of those most vulnerable. Today’s Gospel has much to say to them. The sun of their life is often darkened by loneliness, the moon of their expectations has waned and the stars of their dreams have fallen into gloom; their lives have been shaken. All because of the poverty into which they are often forced, victims of injustice and the inequality of a throwaway society that hurries past without seeing them and without scruple abandons them to their fate.
There is, however, another aspect: tomorrow’s hope. Jesus wants to open our hearts to hope, to remove our anxiety and fear before the pain of the world. And so, he tells us that even as the sun grows dark and everything around us seems to be falling, he himself is drawing near. Amid the groans of our painful history, a future of salvation is beginning to blossom. Tomorrow’s hope flowers amid today’s pain".
