Fr. John R. Sheehan, SJ

Chairman of the Board

Fall 2010

Dear Friend of the Xavier Society for the Blind,

Peace of Christ!

I had a long talk the other day with a professional in the advertising business. Since we do not charge for our services, we are always trying to think of ways to bring our message and our need to more people. This person said to me that we needed to “tug at the heartstrings” and include pictures in our fund-raising letters of poor people we are helping.

I understand what he was saying, but I have two problems with that. The first is that pictures of people reading books or listening to CD’s is neither exciting nor designed to “tug at the heartstrings.” But for the most part, the people I have come to know who use and depend on our services aren’t “poor people struggling with their disability” (another of his phrases). They are educated in the faith, and they want to be as independent as they possibly can. The books and CD’s we provide help them do that, and we hear from them that what we do is terribly important and they are very grateful. But we don’t fit into the “model” of what the advertising man is used to. We don’t feed starving children, we feed hungry souls. We don’t bandage wounds, we strengthen spiritual lives. We don’t train people in skills they can use to find a job, we help them stay in touch with God. It may not be dramatic, but it is very important.

At the recent national convention in Dallas of the National Federation of the Blind, I met a man who has been a client of ours since 1951. I met a young lady age ten who is in her third year with the Xavier Society for the Blind. At Sunday Mass I saw people coming to worship with their Braille and large-print copies of the Mass Propers under their arms, and we added a number of new clients to our rolls, people who had never heard of us and who were delighted with what we provide. I am absolutely convinced that there are still thousands of people who would love to use our library and get our periodicals and receive the Mass Propers, if they only knew we existed.

I am asking for your help. First, we need to continue doing what we have been doing since 1900. We have never charged for our services and we never want to, so support like yours is crucial, as it has always been. Whether you are able to give us a little or a lot, we need everything you can send, and a little bit more. The little bit more is so we can expand our services, and reach out to more people. If there is one person sitting in darkness who does not have access to the Word of God, we are not doing our job completely. That image haunts me, and I am resolved that we will do everything we can to reach out and make our services known.

That is the second part of my request. In addition to your gift – or instead of it, if the current difficult times make it impossible for you to help us financially – please help us spread the word about the Xavier Society for the Blind. Make sure your parish priest knows about us. If there is a senior citizens center, a Veterans Hospital, an eye clinic or a community service agency that helps the blind and visually-disabled, make sure they know about us. We will gladly send you brochures to leave with agencies in your community. We either have to spend money to spread the word, or rely on the help and energy of our supporters. We would rather have people telling people instead of paying for advertisements in newspapers or mailing letters.

We do send out an electronic Newsletter. If you would like to receive this update about our work and activities, please make sure we have your email. You can send your email to me directly at Chairman@xaviersocietyfortheblind.org and I will be sure you are added to our list. We do have a Facebook page, and you can now make contributions directly to us through our own web site, at www.xaviersocietyfortheblind.org.

Thank you for your support, your help, and your prayers. In October we will be celebrating a special Mass with our volunteers here in New York, and all those who help us, wherever they are, in whatever form their help takes, will be remembered at that celebration.

God bless you, and all those you love.

Gratefully yours,

Fr. John R. Sheehan, SJ

Chairman