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A work of gratitude

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Frank Butler

Frank Butler

Frank Butler shared for our newsletter why he supports aging religious… 

“In a powerful passage from his letter, the Joy of the Gospel,  Pope Francis invites Christians to peer into the heart of Saint Paul, to see what this great apostle’s prayer life looked like.

Francis says it was full of people!

He quotes Paul : “…I constantly pray with you in every one of my prayers … because I hold you in my heart” (Phil 1:4, 7).

Francis says that St. Paul is always expressing his gratitude for others in his prayers.  “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you” (Rom 1:8).

And:  “I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor 1:4);

Francis tells us that at the root of St. Paul’s prayer is a deep faith that acknowledges what God is doing in the lives of others.

That is what comes to mind when I consider the wonderful people who, over the course of thirty years, chose to become involved in SOAR’s uplifting work.

SOAR is more than a well- organized charity.

SOAR is a community of gratitude recognizing Christian women and men through whom God has worked for the betterment of humanity.

Thousands of elderly religious said “yes” to God’s invitation to be his loving presence in a suffering world,  and bring to that world good news, hope and joy.   They labored among the poor, they taught, they healed, they prayed.

Now many are in their retirement years and SOAR is able to celebrate these saintly people and together recognize how God has blessed the world through the ministry and faithfulness of religious women and men.

Like St. Paul, I give thanks for God’s grace working in all who are associated with this noble cause.”

Francis J. Butler is the principal and founder of Drexel Philanthropic Advisors. He served for over three decades as the President of FADICA, Foundations and Donors interested in Catholic Activities, a network of Catholic philanthropists. He helped found SOAR! in 1986 and received the Elizabeth Ann Seton Award from SOAR! in 2013.

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