This week I won’t be preaching to you because the homily will have come from the Bishop himself, in the form of a DVD presentation for Our Catholic Appeal. I’ll have been able to slip into a front pew and listen instead of speak and I’ll join you in pledging my support to the Appeal as well. I still have the title Parochial Administrator but I think of myself as your Pastor, and in the vision of the New Testament the shepherd leads his sheep. That means leading you in giving as well, even in a year when being generous involves more of a sacrifice than usual.

We give to the Church in different ways:

Weekly Stewardship: The regular collection at Sunday Mass is what keeps the parish going. It pays the priests and other parish staff; it enables us to maintain the buildings and grounds; and it allows us to buy what we need for our worship and ministries.

Our Catholic Appeal: This provides the annual “housekeeping money” for the Diocese of Orlando, with the expense being shared across all ninety parishes and missions but adjusted according to their size and wealth. The appeal pays for the staff in the Chancery, the diocesan headquarters which provides support for the parishes in many different ways; it finances the work of Catholic Charities, whose services have been much needed in the last year; and it makes possible many other projects, such as the happy one of paying the tuition checks for 27 seminarians – a direct investment in the future of the Church.

Video can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhuDjjzNmRQ.

Extra Collections: Sometimes you will find an envelope in your packet for special needs such as the annual collections for our sister Diocese in the Dominican Republic or retired religious. Sometimes we have additional second collections when emergencies arise, like the recent collection for Haiti, although we pray that those don’t happen often.

All these three areas of giving should be drawn from what we tithe, the traditional ten percent of disposable income which has been set aside as a sign of gratitude to God from the times of the Old Testament. Obviously some families will give less than ten percent because they set aside five percent for Catholic education, but the regular support of parish and diocese touches us all.

Alive in Christ: I haven’t forgotten that I have asked you to join me in digging deep and finding additional money in this past year. The Alive in Christ Campaign is not designed to support our regular expenses. It’s for capital investment in special projects of the parish and the Diocese, things like updating our school buildings which we could only dream of otherwise. The campaign has come at a tough time and yet you and people all over the Diocese have made pledges for the next five years.

Let us once again do our best for Our Catholic Appeal, sharing the load among as many of our families as possible. In the words of Saint Paul to the Philippians (1:3-4) which I chose for our current birthday card: “I thank my God whenever I think of you, and every time I pray for you I always pray with joy”.