Annual Catholic Appeal 2016
Pledge Weekend Homily Aid for Weekend of November 7/8 2015
“For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, she has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."
In this story told by Jesus, who would you say is the richest person here—the ones who gave from their surplus or the widow who gave all that she had?
Would you consider yourself to be rich or poor?... If you think you are poor, why do you think that you are poor? … If you think that you are rich, what is your wealth and where does it come from? In other words, what is the measure of your wealth?
Some consider money or the amount of material goods to be the measure of our wealth and the reason for one’s happiness. There are others who say that rich people never suffer any pain and don’t have real problems and that they are always happy. Would you then agree with those who say that money can even buy happiness?
While financial success can be very convenient in our daily lives, and provide us with necessities, like paying rent and other bills, and, can afford us many luxuries like eating out for dinner often, or having dinner delivered to our home, and long family vacations… financial success, or money, can not buy happiness.
Happiness is what everyone wants whether we are rich or poor, but it cannot be bought with money. For Christians, true happiness is to be in an intimate friendship with Christ. Being in an intimate relationship with Christ, we will always have hope and be able to have peace and remain tranquil in the middle of any storm, whether it is sickness, unemployment, marital problems, or even the death of a loved one. From an intimate friendship with Christ, come many graces like hope, love, peace, forgiveness, justice, humility, and generosity among many other gifts. For Christians, having an intimate friendship with Christ is having everything that we need and what we would ever want because through this friendship, we enter the Kingdom of God, and what else could ever even come close to equal the Kingdom of God in value, beauty, love, and happiness? Nothing!
When God gives, He does not give from his surplus, or his leftovers, He opens wide his treasure gates of His Kingdom and gives in abundance! Or does He not give you life everyday; did He not give you your family members, and friends? Did He not give us his own Son for our Salvation?
I hope that by now, you can disregard the idea that money or material goods are the measure of our wealth. Instead, I hope that by now, you consider our wealth to be an intimate friendship with Christ.
From this intimate friendship with Christ, flows what we consider to be our treasures here on earth. To know what your treasure is, simply look to wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure! If Christ were to come to meet you today where your heart is, where would He find your heart? What would He find as your treasure? Only you know the answer to this question. However, if we were to go find where God’s heart was, to find what His treasure is, where do you think that we would find Him? Where can we find God now? I guarantee you that regardless of your situation or state of grace, you can always find God in the same place every and anytime you really look for Him; you can find Him where His most precious treasure is, you will always find Him close to you… inside your heart.
You are God’s most precious treasure! What is yours?
Many times we avoid donating to different charity organizations, or lending money to someone in need or even giving to the Church, and often times our first excuse is that we are not rich and therefore we don’t have any leftover money to give and that instead of helping others, we should be helped. However, God does not call us to give from our leftovers, He challenges us to have faith in Him and His Church and be generous with what we have; with what He has given to us.
This is pledge weekend for our diocesan Annual Catholic Appeal, this ministry gives us the opportunity to respond to Christ’s call in a very practical way. This year we have a short video to share with you about the ministries and the impact your gift makes!
I ask that you prayerfully consider making a gift to the Annual Catholic Appeal, an amount that is appropriate for your life circumstances; join with all our brothers and sisters in our diocese who today will make a pledge to support the ministries that our local church offers.
Instructions: Please share short video. After the video please walk parishioners step by step and complete the pledge card.