This is just a friendly reminder that we are all called to pitch in to support the mission of the Church.  Our protestant brothers and sisters generally follow the biblical rule to give 10% of our income to the church.  Many Catholic churches ask 5%.  Here at St. Francis we know that living in New York is expensive and that 10% or even 5% might be very difficult.  So we ask our members and visitors to contribute the equivalent of ONE HOUR of work each week to support St. Francis.  This comes to 2.5 % of our weekly income.

Have you committed to your ONE HOUR yet?

We need to be talking about this for two reasons:

1) Our support for the mission of the church is part of being a faithful Christian

2) The reality is that our collections are falling far short of what it costs to keep St. Francis of Assisi running. In fact, many people still only give $1.00 at Mass… which is not sacrificial giving and does little to help us pay our bills.

If you want to make a one-time donation to support all that we do at St. Francis you can do so here.

or you can now text your donation to the church!
Just text our text giving number: 917-983-3911.
Simply put the amount of your donation in body of the text.

Note: the first time you use the text system you will have to fill out some information, but after that you’re in!

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Or if you are ready to commit to your year-round financial support of the Church you can sign up for weekly or monthly giving by clicking here.

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Pentecost celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection and we celebrate the Holy Spirit who dwells in the hearts of all believers.  It is also celebrated as the birthday of the Church.

We rejoice greatly that God has chosen to dwell among us and within us.  It is His Holy Spirit that enlivens us and inspires us to follow Jesus and to fulfill our role as members of the Body of Christ.

Recently at a Confirmation Mass in New Jersey, the auxiliary bishop of Bergen county said this during the homily:

“The devil has a one word job description: divide.

The Holy Spirit also has a one word job description: unite!”

How right the bishop is!  May we all be filled with the Holy Spirit and may the Spirit strengthen us to be people that unite, so that nothing can devide God’s children – neither race, nor language, nor creed, nor economic status, nor gender, nor sexual orientation.  As Christ himself prayed at the last supper: may we all be one.  Just as we hear in the second reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians from the Mass on Pentecost:

Brothers and sisters:

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit;
there are different forms of service but the same Lord;
there are different workings but the same God
who produces all of them in everyone.
To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit
is given for some benefit.

As a body is one though it has many parts,
and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,
so also Christ.
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,
whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,
and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Have a blessed Pentecost!

“Despite the tide of secularism which has swept our societies, in many countries – even those where Christians are a minority –the Catholic Church is considered a credible institution by public opinion, and trusted for her solidarity and concern for those in greatest need. Again and again, the Church has acted as a mediator in finding solutions to problems affecting peace, social harmony, the land, the defense of life, human and civil rights, and so forth. And how much good has been done by Catholics chools and universities around the world!

This is a good thing. Yet, we find it difficult to make people see that when we raise other questions less palatable to public opinion, we are doing so out of fidelity to precisely the same convictions about human dignity and the common good.”