During a six-day period that bridged the end of 2004 and the advent of 2005, my wife and our families endured a grueling journey of faith that called onto the table all that we believed and understood about ourselves.

We are expecting our second child in June. A sudden phone call on Dec. 28 indicated a potential serious problem. More tests were needed. We were devastated, scared, uncertain, trying to be hopeful.

John is President of John M. De Marco Communications, and VP & Editor of GreenBrevard.com. John works in the financial services sector and also is a licensed United Methodist pastor. He writes and speaks on a regular basis within and beyond Brevard County, and can be heard weekdays on WMEL AM 920 with his “Intentional Living” one-minute messages.

Imagine, if you can, your life without the simplest of your needs being fulfilled. You have gone days without a shower, a shave, or a hot meal. Eating only what has been given or begged for and wearing the only clothes you have for another day. With over 2,300 homeless counted in Brevard in last year’s census, the need for help is great.

The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12:38-44, tells the story of Jesus observing the gift offered by a poor widow who enters the Temple in the midst of all the other would-be worshippers.

The religious leaders and high society folks are making sure everyone notices their grandiose gifts to the Temple treasury. The poor widow, however, unassumingly drops two small copper coins, worth about a penny, into the offering plate.

After the current election season, it’s well understood that we live in a divided nation. On the outside it seems that the pressing issues that separate us are all about war, or terrorism or national security. Maybe the economy figures in, or health care or Social Security.

Pulling back the cover of events, issues and personalities enables us to recognize that there are driving ideologolical questions that seperate us. Will America favor socalism over capitalism? Are we driven by those taxed or those who consume the tax? Does big government want to control every aspect of our lives, does the state want to own everything? Will corporations be above the law?

Life can leave us fragmented and without cohesion. Society often has communicated a not-so-subtle message that we have multiple selves; there’s the self we are at home, the self we are at work, the self we are with friends, the self we are at the gym, and even the self we are at church, the temple, the mosque, and so forth.

The Diocese of Orlando has operated Catholic Charities in Brevard County for over 40 years, to assist the community in fulfilling, in a planned and effective way, the work of serving those in need. We are an instrument of concern and action. We maintain our integrity as a church institution by becoming the expression of genuine concern of the Christian people for those who suffer. A deep respect for the individual’s dignity, capacity for self-help, and freedom characterize all of the Christian’s efforts to assist those in need, regardless of race, creed, color, or sex.