Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are engaged in a struggle. I am sure it has touched you or a member of your family in a direct way. The struggle is for the heart and soul of people, often members of our families and close friends. The forces arrayed against us are agnosticism, atheism, religious indifference, Anti-Catholic/Anti-Christian movements, plus our ancient enemy, sin. These forces are influencing the lives of loved ones and depriving them of the full blessings of God. What can we do? The answer is a great deal, over 80% of our faithful at SEAS are involved in spreading the Gospel through ministry, but we can always make a greater impact for the sake of Salvation.
There is strength in numbers; Jesus assures us, “For where there are two or three come together in my name, I am there with them.” (Mt. 18:20) In our gatherings for worship and prayer Christ is powerfully present, in our 52 ministries at SEAS the living Christ is present in a powerful way. But how are we to touch the great number of persons who are not part of our faith community, how do we evangelize the thousands who do not come to Church. We do this by our commitment as good stewards of our resources; we will reach out to others through our Archdiocese and the support we give to the Catholic Services appeal.
Through the CSA our faith touches thousands of people who we could not possibly serve personally. Our sharing assists those who experience the indifference of the world; they will know there are people who care and who involve themselves with works of mercy. The CSA is not just programs it is people reaching out to people; the Gospel comes alive for the first time and changes lives by means of our support of the CSA.
Brothers and Sisters, in the past five years we have made a difference to thousands of people who we will never meet; they have been personally touched by us through our CSA donations. Three years in a row we have surpassed our target and have received several thousand dollars back, which comes to us tax free. These dollars are placed in a special account to meet future needs like repairing the parking lot, replacing the roof, repairs for the heating and air. Money from the CSA will help us put together our program for Young Adult Ministry and give further support for our efforts to engage our teens in our catholic faith.
Why are we starting in Lent? We start now because the spiritual heart of Lent is ‘prayer, fasting, and almsgiving’. Let’s make our monetary contributions a spiritual gift, true almsgiving, a gift dedicated to the Love and Mercy of God. What better way to share our abundance than to support the growth of faith in our Roman Catholic Church through our giving of alms for the benefit of the faithful and our outreach to those who are unchurched or those whose faith is dormant, or those tempted to abandon their Catholic Faith. Let’s show our love of God, by showing our love of neighbor.