Well there’s a lot going on here today at Nativity. I kinda want to change today’s psalm just a little bit. If today your pastor asks for money, harden not your hearts.
I don’t think any pastor really enjoys asking for money, thankfully today I am not asking for myself, I am asking for others. The first one is from the Archbishop, and he asked me to read this letter, so here it goes:
Dear Parishioners,
I am happy to be your archbishop, and to partner with you to continue the mission of Jesus in the ministries of his Catholic Church.
On September 29, 2019, I announced a special appeal to help the poor and to support the mission of the Church. ArchdioceseOne, as we named it, was then paused due to the pandemic and resumed in January, 2022. The needs addressed by the four financial beneficiaries of the special appeal only become greater as each day passes:
We're hoping that when we each do our part, our special appeal will produce the following spiritual benefits as well:
I invite you to visit our special appeal website to watch a short introductory video at www.archdioceseone.org. Here you will find more information about our financial beneficiaries and answers to frequently asked questions.
We can't hope for the material and spiritual success of our special appeal unless this holy work is begun with God's inspiration and carried out by God's help. Thus, all are invited to pray the official prayer:
God, come to our assistance. Lord, make haste to help us.
You will hear more about ArchdioceseOne in the coming weeks through communications by both the parish and archdiocese. These communications will be by mail, social media, bulletins, and in pews. This includes another letter from me with information about how you can make a sacrificial financial gift to support the poor and the mission of the Church.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Michael O. Jackels
Archbishop of Dubuque
So that has been going on for a while, almost three years due to the Covid delay, and it is finally our parish’s turn.
The next “ask” is for October which is Respect for Life month, and every other year we have done the Clarity Clinic Baby Bottle Program.
This money goes to support the Clarity Clinic which is our local pregnancy center located on Hillcrest Road. All of their services are FREE of charge and so they are 100% donor supported.
Their services include:
Please consider supporting the Clarity Clinic by taking home a baby bottle or a donation envelope after mass at any of the exits. You can put your donation in the envelope and mail it to the clinic or drop it in the offering basket over the next two weekends.
Fill the baby bottle with coins, cash or a check made out to the Clarity Clinic. Return the bottles when you come to mass in two weeks (weekend of October 15/16)---there will be empty buckets to put them in when you walk into mass
If you forget to bring your bottle or will be out of town on October 15/16 you can drop your bottle off at the parish office or the Clarity Clinic on Hillcrest Road.
In 2020, Nativity Church donated over $3,000 doing the baby bottle program
It costs $1,200 to save a baby from abortion if you are interested in doing that. (That number is calculated by the total budgets of all pregnancy centers divided by the number of babies being saved in these pregnancy centers which equals $1,200.)
If you would like to tour the clinic, especially the new Tree of Life Education center please contact the clinic to set up a tour appointment. Dennis Rima from the Clarity Clinic is available in the back of the church if you have any questions.
So those are the two “asks” and there is kind of a third at the end of Mass for Dubuque County Right to Life.
For ArchdioceseOne, we are trying to raise something like 50 million dollars across the Archdiocese, and we need to do our part. At the end of the first reading we heard Jesus give us our model to follow saying, “When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'”
It’s a lot of money, especially for a parish who has some significant debt, and aspirations of building a new community center. Spoiler alert, next year in conjunction with our 100 year anniversary we intend to kick off a capital campaign to raise money for a new community center.
Knowing that, I could have done a soft kick off, or a silent kick off for ourselves, that would have delayed raising money for the ArchdioceseOne Campaign indefinitely.
But here’s the thing, I have faith that we have enough money to go around. Especially if it is God’s will for our parish, for the Archdiocese, for the Clarity Clinic, for Dubuque County Right to Life, for all the charities that are truly doing God’s will… if God wants them to continue, He will find a way, through all of us.
So I’m not worried about this. It would be easy to look at these as competition for the same money, but I have faith it will all work out.
And faith is how today’s Gospel started “The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."” And I am telling you that giving money, letting go of our money and possessions and giving to the mission of the church does exactly that, it does increase our faith.
When we give generously, God blesses us. Now that’s not why we give, but I have seen it in my life and many people’s lives around me. For people who are generous, God finds different ways to bless them, materially and spiritually.
Our giving is really more about putting our trust more in God and less in ourselves, less in what we have and our own self-reliance. This goes back to our reading from a couple weeks ago, “you cannot serve both God and mammon.” When we use our money at the service of God, according to His will, we are blessed through that, and our faith is increased all the more.
One final thought here. I’ve been reading a book called Be Transformed by Dr. Bob Schuchtts and he pointed out a few verses from the Acts of the Apostles talking about the life of the early church, and what their Masses looked like. I’ll read it, Acts 2:44-45, Here is the scripture:
All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one’s need.
About this passage and others, Dr. Bob Schuchts said, “Examining ourselves through the mirror of scripture… we must let go of possessing our false comforts. We are all prone, to one degree or another, to hold on to our life, our possessions, our time, and our energy.
In the early Church, when people offered themselves to Jesus, they also offered everything that belonged to them. Their property and possessions were freely offered for the benefit of everyone in need. It was an integral part of their worship. (p. 56)
Giving was part of their worship! This is kind of a call out for reflection for me and for you, each of us, we are all part of this.
But the great thing is we are not alone. God is with us. Jesus is present with us and loves us so much. As we grow in love with Him, as we trust in Him more, we are able to be more generous and do our part in His plan of salvation.