STEWARDSHIP – PARISH GIVING RECEPTIONS

this weekend

After the 5:00pm Mass and between the 9:30 and 11:30am Masses

            Stewardship is what you do after you say “I believe!”  If you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who became the son of Mary to show us God’s love in person, then you are called to stewardship.  Jesus taught us about God and God’s Kingdom.  He taught us how to pray and worship God.  He taught that the most important commandments were to love God and love our neighbor.  And, he showed us – by his own actions – what he meant.  He gathered a community around him and shared God’s love with them.  He fed the hungry and cured the sick.  He gave of his treasury to care for the poor.  He sacrificed himself, day in and day out, for the good of the people around him and then he sacrificed himself on the cross for all of humanity, from the beginning of time until the end of the age.  In all of these ways, he, who, as God, shared with the Father in creating the universe, as a man was a steward, using his time, talent and treasure to introduce the Kingdom of God in our midst.

And then, as he prepared to return to the right hand of God, his heavenly Father, he commanded his disciples to “go make disciples of all nations.”  And, his command is given to us, as well.  We are all called by name, at our baptism, to participate in the mission of the Church, which is essentially building God’s kingdom here on earth as we prepare to go to his kingdom in heaven.  And, in every generation, we need to invite people to share in this call.  Stewardship focuses us on this call.  Once we admit that everything we have is a gift from God, given to us not for our own benefit alone but to share generously with those around us, we seek to find opportunities to share our time, treasure and talent.

You are being called to live out your faith, using your time and talent for the building up of our parish – God’s kingdom in our midst.  Whether it’s lectoring or singing in the choir, bringing Holy Communion to the homebound or preparing casseroles for Mercy Hospice or frozen dinners for Aid for Friends, helping in a wide variety of ways at our school or in our PREP, offering your expertise on our Pastoral Council or Finance Council, getting involved in CYO or our outreach to our sister parish, St. Martin de Porres or in any of our parish social programs and activities, there are lots of ways for all of our parishioners to use their time and talent for the good of our faith community.

We are also called to share our treasure.  Most of you do so and, in the name of your fellow parishioners and all of the other archdiocesan and worldwide institutions you support with your generosity, I thank you.  As you may have noticed on the Church Operating and Expenses chart that accompanied my recent Annual Census and Collection letter to each parish household, the cumulative amount given to support the parish each year is approximately $1.2 million.  In addition to that, contributions to all of the other extra-parochial collections taken up throughout the year total approximately $268,000 annually.  Of course, this doesn’t include the $2.2 million that is collected in tuition and other fees for the operation of our school.

Most parishioners use their weekly envelopes to make their contributions.  A growing number of you, however, are using electronic funds transfers.  This allows you to support your parish even when you’re not able to join us for worship and provides your parish with a more reliable source of income.  In order to make it easier for you to participate in electronic giving, we have just signed up with Parish Giving, a company that is used by dozens of parishes throughout our Archdiocese.  Parish Giving allows you more control over your contributions, including the ease of giving with your credit card as well as a bank account.  You may have already read about it in recent copies of our Parish Bulletin.

This weekend, the Knights of Columbus is hosting a wine and cheese reception after the 5:00pm Saturday evening Vigil Mass as well as a parish coffee after the 9:30am Sunday Mass in celebration of Stewardship Weekend; I hope you can one of these events.  A video that will be presented at these receptions will teach you a little more about Parish Giving and how you can sign up.

In the name of your fellow parishioners, I want to thank you for your continued generosity in sharing your time, talent and treasure here in the parish.  May God bless you as you practice good stewardship in your daily lives.

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Pt 4:10).