MISSION SUNDAY and STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY
“But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Lk 18:8). This Sunday’s gospel reading ends with a very disturbing question. We hear our Lord ask it 2,000 years ago and it is still one that we need to answer today. Sadly, so many people – including some of our family members and friends – have abandoned their faith for a wide variety of reasons. We, however, relish our faith and find great strength, encouragement and direction in it. Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Mary’s son, has touched our lives and we know that we need him to help us navigate the challenges of our lives as we prepare to join him in heaven. And so, like his first disciples, we listen to the commission he gave to them before ascending to the Father to make disciples of all the nations. Next Sunday, we will join with the universal Church is celebrating World Mission Sunday; the theme this year is: “You shall be my witnesses!” (Acts 1:8). I encourage you to read Abp. Pérez’s letter below in today’s Parish Bulletin and recommit yourself to supporting this important work of the Church through prayer and sacrifice.
Another important aspect of the mission of our Church is stewardship. 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, who died and rose to life to offer us new life, then you are called to stewardship. Just as Jesus used his time, talent and treasure to proclaim God’s Kingdom, he calls us to continue his mission by using our time, talent and treasure – we do so right here in St. Katharine of Siena Parish. Over the past few weeks, you have heard and read about how we are engaging the entire parish in reinvigorating ourselves in that mission with a new five-year Pastoral Plan. We are committed to providing transformative liturgies, to engage even more parishioners in our many parish ministries and to help everyone who has been touched by Jesus to share their faith with those around them.
All of this requires strong resources and so, once again, we begin our Annual Stewardship Appeal. If you haven’t done so yet, you will soon receive a mailing outlining our goals and asking you to support you parish. I ask you to prayerfully review how you can contribute your treasure to this very important Annual Appeal. It may be a tithe, or more or less, but may it come out of gratitude to a gracious and loving God.
“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).