I had the pleasure of spending time with Andrea Wirt while I was in the Chicagoland area in late October. Andrea grew up primarily in Colorado and came to Evanston, Illinois, for law school, where she met her husband Dave and converted to Catholicism. Life went on, and they both experienced professional success and attended Mass on a regular basis, but 
were not particularly active in their parish.
Then Andrea was in a bad car accident. During her recovery, she felt at loose ends, and Dave suggested she try going to daily Mass. There, she encountered Sister Lauretta and Sister Anna Marie, who encouraged her to become involved in a small way, with a children’s Halloween candy project. Andrea caught fire from those simple suggestions! She is a past president of the St. Anne’s parish women’s club in Barrington, and she and David are among the pillars of the RCIA program. Andrea is very humble about her service, but she and Dave this fall were among the laypeople honored with the Chicago Archdiocese’s Christifideles Award for exemplary parish service. (They’re pictured here with Cardinal George when they received the award.)
Andrea’s story reminds me that the sharing of our time, talent, and treasure begins at the parish level. Who reflects Christ to you?
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