Giving to Saint Pascal
Stewardship requires “noticing.” So many things in our
lives are easily taken for granted --- our health, our
homes, our faith, yes, even our families. In order to be a
good steward, we must be aware of what we have. Some people
may remember the old admonition: Count your blessings!
Once we have taken the time to notice all the goodness of
God, all the blessings we have, we can’t help but be
grateful! We thank and praise God for the wonder of our
families, the beauty of creation, our health (in whatever
state it may be) and all that composes the texture of our
lives. Taking on a heart of gratitude changes how we see
things. Chronic complainers tend to be less than grateful.
Gratitude raises our spirits and diminishes crankiness!
We go from noticing to gratitude. The third step then comes
naturally. We become generous. When you truly understand
what you have, the heart swells with gratitude, and out of
that gratitude, we are moved to kindness towards others. The
best part is, it becomes a cycle. As we are generous, we
realize more what we have and we become more grateful, and
more generous --- on and on in a cycle of grace!
Everyone is being pulled in many different directions.
Money is tight and giving as stewards requires great trust
in God and practical understanding. Just to give you an idea
of where you can contribute at Saint Pascal, here is a list.
Or maybe it is better to think of it as a menu ---
no one can do everything but everyone can do something.
The Sunday collection is the engine that keeps the parish
going, paying all the normal bills of everything from
employees and utilities, to cleaning supplies and postage.
Our Faith, Our Future is re-paying the Archdiocesan loan for
the extensive work being done on our church and hopefully,
other work including electrical and plumbing upgrades in our
church, rectory and school. Direct gifts to the school will
help pay off the debt accrued last year. Other ways you can
help are indirect but worthwhile: Using TRIP cards,
clipping Campbell Soup labels, playing Saint Pascal bingo,
buying food from Market Days, and saving box tops from many
products. All of these benefit the parish and help pay the
bills. You can call the school for details.
| Annual
Catholic Appeal - Our Faith, Our Future
In past years
when the Annual Catholic Appeal came along,
I often got questions from people like, “Why
should I give to the Archdiocese?” or “What
has the Archdiocese done for us?” These are
questions worthy of answers but they betray
a certain misunderstanding of who we are as
Catholics. We are not a congregational
church. By that I mean we don’t make
decisions regarding our beliefs, faith or
administration. Our parish is not
independent, though we are responsible for
our well-being. The Church throughout the
world is organized much as Saint Paul
referred to when he wrote about us as the
Body of Christ: “Many though we are, we are
one body.” So we support each other. We
celebrate every parish’s success and mourn
each parish’s pain as if it were our own.
Our original
goal for Our Faith, Our Future was $875,000.
The combined funds for Our Faith, Our Future
and last year's Annual Catholic Appeal total
about $700,000. Saint Pascal's goal
for the Annual Catholic Appeal this year is
$39,947. It seems that the best way
for us to tackle both of these goals is to
combine the campaign into one. We will
collect the mandatory amount for the
Archdiocese, and anything over and above
will go to Our Faith, Our Future. This
will allow us to fulfill our responsibility
to the Archdiocese and pursue our parish
goals as well.
Very Rev. Paul G. Seaman
Pastor
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