Holy Rosary students help spread Christmas joy

Students at Holy Rosary School in Medford in partnership with youth from four other parishes collected 260 Boxes of Joy that will be sent as Christmas gifts to children in developing countries.

On Wednesday morning, students and staff took part in a ceremony where Father Patrick McConnell blessed the boxes and shared the lesson that just as God blesses each of us, we in turn should go out and share those blessings with others. “It is because we are blessed that we are able to do this,” he said.

Cross Catholic Outreach’s Box of Joy is a Christmas ministry inviting people all over the U.S. to pack hope and happiness for thousands of children in dire poverty around the world. Parishes, schools, churches, groups and families may pack gift boxes with presents like small toys, bar soap, pencils, a toothbrush, toothpaste, hard candy, crayons, coloring books or t-shirts. Each box will include a rosary and “The Story of Jesus,” in the recipient’s native language.

In 2018, 620 parishes around the country participated in the Box of Joy program helping make Christmas brighter for 58,030 children in the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This year’s goal is to collect 85,000 boxes.

“Many of these children had never received a Christmas gift before,” said Mike Bub, the religious education director at Holy Rosary parish. He praised the Holy Rosary children on their generosity.

“It is because of you that they will have a brighter Christmas morning,” he said explaining that helping others “Is what Jesus wants us to do.”