In today’s Gospel we hear: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” In fact, when you look at all the readings for Mass, you will notice the same theme of how we should deal with our “neighbor.” The Gospel speaks about ways to deal with various situations and some of the ways of dealing with those who harm us go against our normal response of paying back or getting even. These may be challenges to any of us who try to live as Christians, but Jesus doesn’t want us to be like him as difficult aa it may be. After all, there is enough hatred in the world, why add more through our negative behavior?
Today, you will an encouraging message about everyone doing his/her share to support our mission here at St. Francis Church. Online Giving has had a great impact on our Sunday collections and it is an easy way to do your share. Many have joined in the One Hour way – giving what one earns in one hour at work. At times when I am taking up the collection, I notice that people are going through their pockets trying to find something for the collection; often it is a dollar or change or nothing. A conscientious decision on how much to support the church is important rather than hunting through one’s pockets whenever there is a collection. This is so important to the life and vitality and mission of our church and any church. Our collections have not been meeting the budget, as can be seen in January’s financial report for 2019 and 2020 (see the follow page). We bring this to your attention now, so that the trend can change and we can move into a better financial situation. Your participation is greatly appreciated.
-Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.