Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. (Luke 12:33–34)
This weekend we launch our new parish stewardship program called “ALMS”. The name is an acronym about our parish mission statement, “Abide in Christ. Love God & Neighbor. Make Disciples.” The first letters of the verbs spell “ALM”. To carry out this mission, the obvious need is Stewardship, and with the addition this “S” word, we get ALMS. And what an appropriate word to spell out as we see from the scripture passage above. Jesus said that in giving alms we gain an “inexhaustible treasure in heaven”.
ALMS especially is focusing on the “treasure” part of stewardship. We still very much desire your “time” and “talent”, but we will gather that in other ways. We have included our annual financial report in this bulletin. We are immensely grateful for your gifts of treasure, your financial giving, to the parish. It supports all our ministries of evangelizing, catechizing, and service. While I am reluctant and humbled to do so, I do have to ask for increased giving. I believe in our mission—nothing is more important—and that you will also find immense blessing in giving—treasure in heaven. I know times are difficult with inflation. Our parish expenses have gone up while our normal offertory giving has stayed flat. For example, the utility bills we pay have gone up 25% since 2018 but our offertory income only 5%. I assume you meet the same challenge at home, and I know this means great sacrifice for many of you.
“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” I hope and pray that Prince of Peace parish is in each of our hearts. It is our church, our family, our place where we worship God, receive the Sacraments, pray, learn, grow, have fellowship, and go out to serve. I wish you all could see all the good things happening here in so many different ways. Your stewardship is essential to making these things happen. So again, I thank you for all of your giving and considering this weekend’s message. You will get mailings at home with more information. Please prayerfully consider. As this Sunday’s gospel relates, we are invited to a great wedding banquet feast. I am excited to see what will come in our future as we carry out the mission Jesus has given to us. I close with St. Paul’s prayer, from our second reading of Mass, were he thanked the Philippians for providing for his ministry. “My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Peace,
Fr. Greg