Homily: Eleventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time
Eleventh Wednesday of Ordinary Time (2nd Corinthians 9:6-11) “Give with a Smile”
St. Paul was a pastor who had to deal with many of the problems that many pastors must deal with. One of the things that he had to do was raise funds for his missionary work. He also had to struggle with parochialism. The churches, he found, were often in competition with each other. He tried to get them to work together.
One of the issues that he had was that he had to try to get his parishes to share resources. He had churches that had wealthy members and had no funding problems. He also had churches that were just starting, that had few resources. The question was whether he could get the various churches he was responsible for to share the wealth.
There are usually two topics that most preachers want to stay away from. One of the topics is sexuality. The other is money. Someone once said that when we are young, lust is a huge problem for us, but eventually the sex drive wanes and is no longer as big an issue. Greed however is a sin that seems to hang with us our whole life.
Whatever amount of money we have, we can have a sense that we could benefit from more. I have had conversations with elderly people who were in their last days and their main concern was how much their medical care was costing and whether they would run out of money. We can feel insecure when it comes to our material resources.
Paul maintains that there is nothing like the joy of giving money to worthy cause. The person who asks for funds must believe in their ministry. Asking for donations is proof of the minister’s commitment. The person who gives, needs to feel that same zeal. If they do, they will be generous and happy about their donations.
Seneca once said, “To give with doubt and delay, is worse than to never give at all.”
Reflection Questions:
- Am I a person who attaches strings to my charity? What are those requirements?
- Am I happy when I give to a worthy cause? Is it a happiness that exceeds buying the newest gadget that I may crave?
Dear Parishioners,
Everyone can see that the rectory demolition is complete. I would like to thank all those volunteers who worked so hard to accomplish this task. Don Lewis was, once again, invaluable in getting this phase of our TTT Capital Campaign completed. Last second complications came about, but we overcame these hurdles and got the job done. A lot of the furniture and other fixtures were purchased or given away. Several people benefited.
Someone asked me Sunday when the new rectory would be built on the empty lot. Obviously, not everyone has read our campaign literature the last three years. The vacant lot will be seeded and become green space at present.
I was told today that the new roof will be completed on the north end of Culemans Hall this week. This was another major project that we are glad to complete.
We have accomplished a lot and have changed the face of our campus. Hopefully, this will benefit us in our parish life together.
May Our Lady and All the Angels and Saints protect us all.
Fr. Mark