We Catholics believe in Purgatory, which is kind of a half-way house for those of us who haven't got a legitimate shot at making it into heaven on the first cut. Hopefully, we will have done enough good deeds to offset the many bad ones, and thereby make it on the second or third vote.

It's like getting voted into any Hall of Fame. I recall I was nominated 18 consecutive years into the National Speakers Association (Council of Peers Award of Excellence) Speakers Hall of Fame before finally getting the nod. I was the NSA's Susan Lucci. In fact, we both finally got selected in the same year- 2000.

As a practicing Catholic my whole life, I have worked closely with parishes of which I was a part. When living in Lexington, SC, I found the land on which Corpus Christi Parish is located today and was involved with helping with construction. When moving to St. Cloud, Florida, I've also been involved with St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and the Diocese of Orlando in a variety of ways.

The Catholic Church has contributed throughout the years to the community of St. Cloud. When the construction of St. Cloud Hospital was about 30 percent complete back in the sixties, it came to a sudden standstill. They ran out of funds and came under extreme pressure from the hospital's creditors.

The citizens behind the hospital project were ready to abandon it… they tried to get many groups to help with the financing and complete the facility, but all shied away from the project….everybody the but Catholic community.

The Catholic Diocese of Orlando came forward to help… and assumed responsibility. The Church took over the project and provided funds to complete the venture. They assumed the mortgage and underwrote its operational expenses. In addition, they staffed the hospital through the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who provided such tender loving care to the patients.

The Church operated the hospital for more than fifteen years without a loss, continually showing that it could and would become self-sufficient. Gradually, the Diocese delegated more responsibility to the Board.

On April 1, 1980, Bishop Thomas J. Grady transferred ownership of the land, building, its contents and all assets and liabilities to a private, non-profit corporation called St. Cloud Hospital, Inc., thereby releasing control of the hospital from the Diocese of Orlando.

History was again made when Bishop Grady Villas was constructed, a first of its kind challenge for the Diocese of Orlando. Bishop Norbert Dorsey, under whose leadership this project became a reality, once told me that this project got faster approval than any other during his tenure in the Diocese. This is a residential facility, for mentally challenged and disabled people, is located adjacent to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in St. Cloud, Florida.

Several decades ago, we reached out the city of St. Cloud to save a hospital and to provide much needed health care to a community facing medical hardship. And now our parish reached out once again with the formation and construction of the St. Thomas Aquinas Free Medical Clinic, operated by volunteers from not only our parish but the entire St. Cloud community.

This wonderful project is finally a reality, after years of planning and many hours of effort by scores of parishioners, medical professionals, doctors, nurses, administrators and others in the community… and thousands of dollars of donations and in-kind contributions.

Once again, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church extends a hand to help those who can not help themselves. This free clinic will reach out to those who can not afford medical insurance and are not qualified for other government programs such as Medicaid or Medicare.

Some might argue that this is not the role of the church. I believe it's more the role of the church than the role of a government that abandons many of these folks in their time of need.

For those of us who are destined to a halfway house called Purgatory, working with projects like Bishop Grady Villas and the free St. Thomas Aquinas Medical Clinic can't hurt your resume. I still think it's going to take several votes however for me to even have a shot at it.