It was a covert operation. Outfitted in our black hats and hoodies, my then-eight-year-old son and I took off on our mission: to deliver a Christmas tree to our friend Sharon. She had decided to forgo having a Christmas tree that year since she’d be away visiting out-of-state family. When Jay overheard us talking and she mentioned she didn’t have a tree, he was horrified, indignant even, in the starry-eyed, Christmas-waiting way that eight-year-olds can be. “But Sharon must have a tree! It’s just not right!”

Liz Ryan is one of those people who lights up a room with her ever-present smile and endless positivity. So much so that her exuberance makes some people suspicious. “What is it that you do that makes you happy all the time,” is a question Liz says she gets asked a lot. Her response? “It’s God. Not a big secret — knowing his joy is my joy.”

Just eight years ago, Deacon Don Bouchard, D.O., and his late wife, Theresa, created Holy Family Healthcare as a mobile unit. Their mission was to serve the migrant and local communities with Catholic-based family healthcare, treating the whole person. Now, thanks to the generosity of donors and a matching grant from Catholic Extension, the organization is operating from its new 4,000-square-foot offices in downtown Hartford, increasing its capacity to serve surrounding communities.

Hundreds of households in our nine-county diocesan area face difficult decisions between having heat and paying for other necessities like food or medicine each winter. From its inception in the early 1980s until now, the Home Heating Assistance Program has given more than $2.2 million and aided more than 13,000 families in our diocese to make that decision a little easier.

“It's so awesome — can we tell people about this?!" That was Heather Hicks’ question after learning about the online faith formation courses offered through the diocese’s Institute of Missionary Discipleship (IMD). The newly appointed Director of Religious Education for St. Cyril Parish, Nashville, was embarking on completing her catechist certification and was enthralled with the online courses, which are offered through a partnership with Franciscan University of Steubenville.