Thanks, God!
There is an old saying that goes, “Faith is not a spectator sport.” I think it’s also possible to say that faith is not something that we live alone. Our faith is strengthened and encouraged when we live it together in the context of family, with a group of friends, with our fellow parishioners, and with fellow Catholics across all ten counties of our diocese. As we live our faith in gratitude, there can be many blessed moments by which we show our thanks to God.
There is an old saying that goes, “Faith is not a spectator sport.” I think it’s also possible to say that faith is not something that we live alone. Our faith is strengthened and encouraged when we live it together in the context of family, with a group of friends, with our fellow parishioners, and with fellow Catholics across all ten counties of our diocese. As we live our faith in gratitude, there can be many blessed moments by which we show our thanks to God.
“What we give is what we have from the Lord,” taken from the First Book of Chronicles, is the theme for this year’s Diocesan Services Appeal—the DSA. The DSA is an annual example of what is possible when, in faith, and with generosity, we return in generosity what God has given each of us, in order to make possible dozens of ministries that serve thousands of people each year. These are ministries that no single parish and no single individual could ever hope to accomplish alone. Yet, when we work together in faith, and in generous faith we support and encourage one another, the fruits of Christ-like love are made real in our world.
This year, we are shedding light on the work of Catholic Charities in our diocese, ministry to mothers who are grieving miscarriage, stillbirth and infant loss, ministries that support our high school youth, and the ongoing formation of our seminarians. Each of these is an example of a ministry that is supported by and made possible through your generous support of the DSA. If we did not work together in faith in this manner, many such ministries would simply be impossible. Yet, when we share what God has shared with us, thousands of lives are touched for the better.
Take some time to learn more about these examples of the many ministries supported by the DSA, and join me in making a gift of financial support. These ministries are undertaken in the name of each one of us, and each one is a reflection of the love and good works that happen each day in our homes, in our parish communities and across our diocese, as, in faith and with love, we give what we have from the Lord. And so, our journey in FAITH continues.
