Stewardship Thoughts

The visit by Fr. Bonaventure reminded me of the importance of a continuing missionary spirit. One or two times a year we host missionaries with appeals. The response is always very generous. We gave Fr. Bonaventure $1400 for his work.

It has been suggested we tithe as a parish part of the Offertory for mission work. There are home missions in Ohio, in the US, as well as in underdeveloped countries overseas. There are parishes with financial burdens greater than ours.

To take a step in that direction we have to think beyond "giving to need". Catholics have a history of generous "giving to need" but that only brings you up to the minimum. I have never been in a parish that has taken stewardship serious and the families gave a generous percent of their income in thanksgiving. If every family gave 5% of their income, we'd have a surplus that could be used in mission work.