The work of “clothe the naked” took on a Vermont flavor when winter clothes were collected for migrant families, said Father Luke Austin, pastor of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Middlebury, referring to the project of the Catholic Migrant Ministry of Addison County.

The clothes, he explained, “are specialty items, whether for those who work on the farms or for their family members. Having to find them and purchase them becomes one more expense. The drive enriched both the parishioners who gave, and the parishioners who received.”

When parishes throughout the Diocese of Burlington generously undertake the Corporal Works of Mercy through their unique ministries, they are doing more than providing food to the hungry, transportation to the homebound, or Christmas gifts to families with limited resources.

They are bridging the gap of loneliness, developing relationships and trust, and bringing a certain element of peace of mind and heart to individuals and families.

The mission of the Catholic Migrant Ministry, centered at St. Peter Parish in Vergennes, “exists to support the spiritual and material needs of the migrant community of Addison County and their families in their countries of origin as those needs are made known to us,” explained Patti Lewis, chairperson.

The main activity is provision of a monthly Spanish Mass and communal meal prepared by migrant families.

Dominican Father Timothy Danaher, director and chaplain of Aquinas House at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and one of the priests who helps with the migrant Masses each month, said the experience is amazing: “They sit at tables with local Vermonters, eventually shyness is overcome, and people get talking in a blur of English and Spanish and a mix of both! These meals and conversations are a gift to the whole migrant community. … Mass brings peace beforehand, and I always try to preach from the heart with stories to them. More and more, we’re celebrating baptisms and First Communions and (soon) marriages, as people are feeling more ready for the sacraments.”

The ministry was an essential contributor to completion of a clean water project in San Jose Monteverde, Mexico, over the past three years, providing safe drinking water to a village of 1,000. The ministry also works closely with the Open Door Clinic and has assisted a young mother with two very young children after her heart surgery, sent financial support to a mother requiring brain cancer surgery in Mexico, and provides rides to appointments, easing the anxiety associated with medical care.

Father Lance Harlow, pastor of Corpus Christi Parish based in St. Johnsbury, underscored that the fruits of the works of mercy are often the unexpected graces of a decision to live the Catholic faith. He recounted a time when he operated a homeless shelter at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Burlington in cooperation with Spectrum Youth and Family Services.

The parish provided food for the youth, but Father Harlow did the grocery shopping, often stocking up on a freezing winter’s night for breakfast the next morning, which, for a season, he cooked. One morning, one of the young men gave him a big hug, saying, “Father, I love you.” Father Harlow replied, “I love you, too. [But]what makes you say that?” The youth answered with a big smile, “Because you make coffee for me every morning.” Often food and drink are so much more than food and drink.