I will repeat something that I have said in the past. When we are offering financial support whether to our favorite charities or to the parish church, it is critical that we do so deliberately. It should never just be a matter of whatever-I-have-on-hand. Our sharing of financial support must be deliberate, sacrificial, and generous. Different people will make their giving decisions differently. For example, I give a certain percentage of what I earn to the church and to charities. Other people tie their giving to their hourly wages, for example, by giving one hour of work per week to the parish and then doing something similar for charity. The key element is an intentional and deliberate decision. That is what the Commitment Guide and Workbook is all about.

Take some time this week. Open up the Commitment Guide and Workbook to the fourth section on support. Spend some time in quiet reflection and in prayer. Consider some specific ways that you can offer personal support to family, friends, neighbors, the parish community, and even to strangers. It may be as simple a thing as a smile or a word of encouragement. It may be a more involved commitment to visit people who are sick or grieving. The point is not what you do but that you do something and that you do it with a deliberate decision and commitment.

Take some time to think and pray about your financial commitment to the parish and to charities. Again, I want to emphasize the deliberateness and intentionality that ought to enter into your decision about how you will use your money for a good cause.

Let me add an afterword about giving to the parish. For some people, giving to the parish church is like paying dues to a club or supporting an institution that can provide me with services. That is not the case at all. When we give to the parish, we in fact support one another. Giving to the parish parallels giving to our own families. In this parish community, we bring our babies to be baptized, we find reconciliation, we receive the Body and Blood of the Lord, we hear God’s Word that plants a seed of hope in our hearts, we bring our dead to be buried. This is no club or fraternal organization. It is our parish family. And ultimately it certainly does not depend on the priests or staff. They come and go. Parish support should not be a referendum on their performance. This community and family of faith that is called Divine Savior Parish has the staying power of a family that is brought together by the love of God and the Word of faith. That is why we must support it.

God bless you.

Father Cameli