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LAMP Ministries is a Catholic lay
missionary association, comprised of people
who serve among the materially poor, with a
focus on evangelization. LAMP’s call has drawn us into the beating Heart of Jesus as that Heart of Compassion embracing those most in need, with our Blessed Mother’s Heart united to His. |
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A Call
To Holiness |
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Are you called to
the mission of Lamp? |
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The Eucharist |
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The Eucharist is
central to LAMP's spirituality. The mission of the Church is a continuity of the mission of Christ and draws spiritual energy from communion with
His Body and Blood. |
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Make
A Donation |
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Although you may
not be able to visit a materially poor person or
family in a crowded shelter or walk-up apartment
in the New York City Metropolitan area, you can
help to make it possible for a LAMP Missionary
to do so. |
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"You,
Lord, give light to my lamp; my God, You brighten the
darkness about me."
- Psalm 18:28 |
LAMP's History
(continued)
On the one
hand there were very poor parishes that couldn’t
afford to hire someone to serve in evangelistic
outreaches as: home visiting, youth ministry,
sacramental preparation, Scripture sharing groups,
etc.. On the other hand, there might be other lay
persons who wanted to serve the poor, but wanted to
do it with an emphasis on evangelization, and do not
know where or how to do so. Over subsequent weeks,
through prayerful reflection and discussion, they
began to put their thoughts on paper, and then
circulated their ideas to a number of Church leaders
they knew and respected around the country. While
all responded affirmatively, some doubted if anyone
would be generous enough to answer such a call.
One friend, whose support and guidance was greatly
valued, was Rev. Alvin Illig, C.S.P., the then
Director of the Paulist National Office of Catholic
Evangelization. Upon calling him to tell of this
vision, he immediately offered a grant of $5,000 to
help it begin.
In prayerfully seeking a name
for this ministry, Tom & Lyn eventually arrived on
“LAMP Ministries”. The many scriptural references
to the word “lamp” were significant, including John
the Baptist being called the “bright and shining
lamp” (John 5:35, preparing the way for Jesus.) It
also fit the acronym, “Lay Apostolic Ministries with
the Poor”, which well articulated the vision to
which the Holy Spirit had guided them. They put
significant emphasis on the word “with”, as opposed
to “to” or “for” the poor. The importance of that
word was frequently the source of subsequent
teachings for the LAMP Missionaries, as well as
significantly referred to in Cardinal O’Connor’s
Sunday homily on the homeless on Feb. 7, 1993, when
he shared about LAMP and read excerpts from The Poor
and the Good News.
It was very important for the Scheurings that LAMP
have an ecclesial vision, that it be clearly
connected with the Catholic Church from its
inception. After attempting to make this connection
through various Chancery Offices in the New York
Archdiocese, they eventually wrote to their good
friend, Bishop Francisco Garmendia, in the South
Bronx.
He encouraged them to write directly to Terence
Cardinal Cooke, the Archbishop of New York at that
time. The Cardinal was somewhat familiar with the
Scheurings through their earlier book on married
spirituality, Two For Joy. They wrote to the
Cardinal, asking his blessing on their beginning
LAMP.
They received his
affirmative reply on March 25, 1981 (Feast of Mary’s
Annunciation), inviting them to come to the
Archdiocese to begin LAMP. Because of the graces
that Tom & Lyn believed this affirmation contained,
they considered that date as the beginning of LAMP
Ministries.
Page 2 of 3 [Next]
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