733 James I. Harrison Jr. Parkway East - Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35405

Browsing Father Michael Deering's Sunday Homilies

Give to Catholic Charities to help lost sheep find their way!

 

Homily originally presented September 15, 2019

 

Give to Catholic Charities to help lost sheep find their way!

 

Imagine that you’re at the airport and you’re traveling alone  …and while you’re waiting there in the gate area you notice with alarm that you can’t find your phone. You know you had it when you parked your car and now you can’t seem to find it!

 

Your mind raceswhere is it … where could it be?

Maybe I never picked it back up after I emptied my pockets going through security ,

or maybe I left it at the newsstand when I stopped to buy the paper, or

maybe it fell out of my pocket when I used the Rest Room.

 

You figure you need to move quickly to find your phone, but here at the gate you have your coat, your topcoat, your overnight carryon bag and your laptop computer.

 

And so you ask yourself,

should I leave all this stuff here and go back to look for my phone?

 

And you immediately thinkno, I can’t do that …

if I do that … I could come back and find some or all of this stuff gone too!

 

The phone’s important, but not important enough to risk losing the rest of my stuff!

Oh, I guess I’ll just let it go ... and hope I get it back someday.

 

Given this, it’s easy to see how the scribes and Pharisees ...

must have been puzzled when Jesus  asked the question:

“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them

would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one?”

 

They had to think to themselves“Why no man would do that!”

Back then, sheep were very precious to their owners

and no shepherd would ever risk leaving the ninety-nine in order to find one.

 

The scribes & Pharisees had to be equally puzzled when Jesus asked them:

“What woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp

and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?”

 

The coin in question was likely of very little value, perhaps that of a penny.

So what would move her to turn her house upside down looking for it … and then after finding it … move her to throw a party to celebrate her good fortune?

 

Those listeners had to think that this was really outrageous.

 

And that’s the very point that Jesus wanted to make to them.

He wanted to get them to see that the love that God has for all of us is outrageous!

His love for us goes way beyond anything we could even dream or imagine.  

 

All of us are “small coins” compared to Him … and yet …

God doesn’t want to lose any of us!

 

All of us are mighty precious to Him!

 

And God never has to make the decision

to leave ninety-nine of us to go and look for one who is lost.

Because God can do both at the same time!

 

Recall how Jesus said in John’s Gospel, “I will not leave you orphans.”

And how at the Ascension, He promised in Matthew,

“I will be with you always until the end of the world.” 

 

Jesus goes after the lost … but He never leaves His flock!

 

Just who are the lost?              All of us!

All of us are lost … to one degree or another!

 

In fact all of our readings today indicate this!

 

In our First Reading from Exodus, God says to Moses,

“Go down at once to your people … for they have become depraved

(having) turned away from the way I pointed out to them.”

 

God’s Chosen People got lost ... because they turned away from Him.

 

In our Second Reading, St. Paul says that even he was lost ...  

admitting that he, “was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant.”

 

And he delights in announcing that finding the lost was the very reason that Jesus came to be with us, saying,    “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

 

In our Gospel, Luke records the scribes & Pharisees complaining about Jesus saying  

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

 

How happy we should be that this is true … because all of us … are sinners!

 

And Jesus welcomes us … as He draws us who wander away from Him …

back to Himself  … for we belong to Him … we are His flock.

 

Once we realize that Jesus came into the world to find and save the lost  

that will hopefully fill us with the desire to further His great work of salvation.

 

 

One way we get the opportunity to do this is through our participation in

 the Annual Catholic Charities Appeal.

 

It’s through Catholic Charities that we get to help the lost to be found right here in the Diocese of Birmingham.    It’s here the poor and needy get help to live.

 

What is the Diocese of Birmingham? It’s the geographical area that makes up the northern half of the State of Alabama. That includes some 50 Catholic Parishes.

 

We are one of them ... Holy Spirit Parish  /  St. John the Baptist Parish

a Church Community of 1,300 families  / 50 families.

 

and while we can satisfy many needs locally ...

some of the needs are best satisfied at the broader level of the Diocese.

 

You can easily see how this works in civil Government ...

where individual Cities take advantage of Countywide programs/services.

   and where individual  States take advantage of Federal programs & services

 

In a similar way, Catholic Charities is the most effective way for the Church

to provide assistance to the needy all across Northern Alabama

 

You and I and all the faithful are able to participate in this simply by following

The wise plan that God put in place from the very beginning  ...

the Plan that He calls Tithing.

 

From the first Book of the Bible, we hear God calling people to give back to Him the first tenth of their food, their flocks and their funds! This is tithing or “tenth”.

 

It’s expressed 46 times in the Scriptures. It’s God’s mandate to tithe.

 

Tithing reminds us that everything we have is from God.

 

And that should fill us with such a spirit of gratitude to God for His goodness to us that we’d be moved to want to thank Him by offering the first fruits of our labors back to Himgiving the first 10% of our earnings to God through His Church.

 

Not only would this help keep our priorities in the proper order, but it would enable the Church to help those who are less fortunate satisfy their needs.

 

And the needs are great and growing!

In addition to the request for prayers … there’s requests for real concrete help:

  • such as financial help to pay part of a utility bill or rent.
  • There are requests for food and clothing and

 

 

  • There are requests for diapers and medicine.
  • There are requests for counseling to work through difficult family situations.

 

These are just a few of the requests that come to the Church.

 

And it’s through Catholic Charities …

that we’re able to help with these situations.    Here’s how it’s done:

 

Once a year, in September, we’re asked to decide how much we will pledge to Catholic Charities for the coming year ... 2020.

 

Then the funds that all the 50 Churches provide are used by the Diocese

to administer the help that is needed all throughout the Diocese!

 

The 2020 goal for Holy Spirit Parish is $85,000.

 

The 2020 goal for our whole Diocese is $4.3M.

 

As we look at where that money goes, we can be proud of the fact that

97% of all monies collected go to help the needy!

 

One outlet of help is the Disaster Recovery Center in Homewood.

Its’ here that we can coordinate care and relief in a most efficient way!

 

Our Diocese also operates 11 Catholic Centers of Concern in such major cities as Birmingham, Huntsville, Anniston, Tuscaloosa, Winfield, and Florence where some 275 poor people a day are helped with food, clothing, prescriptions, rent and utilities!

 

Our Diocese also operates 4 Catholic Family Services offices where over 1000 families a year receive counseling for family and marriage problems, and help with foster care, unwed mothers and placing or receiving children for adoption!

 

Our Diocese provides monthly Mass & a Hot Meal to over 1000 Senior Citizens.

 

Our Diocese provides religious education and pastoral care to 160 Mentally Retarded persons during the year.

 

Our Diocese funds most of the costs to form and educate men studying for the Priesthood. Those costs are over 35,000 a year for each of our 7 Seminarians.

 

The Diocese provides direction in Religious Education for the 17,000 children  enrolled in either Catholic schools or Parish Schools of Religion.

 

 

The Diocese also assists in the RCIA programs which guide some 500 people each year into the Catholic Church.

 

Catholic Charities is where we get most of the funding to run the many ministries of the diocese for the year.

We simply couldn’t run our Diocese without Catholic Charities!

 

And the way we fund Catholic Charities is right there in God’s plan of Tithing!

 

Here’s the suggestion that comes from our Bishops …

give 5% of your income to your Parish for it’s operation and programs,

give 1% of your income to your Diocese through the Catholic Charities fund, and

give 4% of your income to the Charities of our choice, such as:

     Schools, American Cancer, Habitat for Humanity, Choices or EWTN, etc.

 

 

For those of you who are registered in our Parish, you should have received your personal pledge card, a brochure & a letter from the Bishop in the mail last week. Please take time to pray about how you will participate in this important opportunity.

 

For those of you not registered, please pick up a Pledge Card in the vestibule.  

 

Think about and pray about how you will participate in this opportunity to help.  

 

How much should you give?

 

Well 50 years ago, Archbishop Toolen told his Priests to have each family give $5 … and however much they were short on their goal,

the money would be taken out of the Priest’s salary!

 

Thank goodness that’s not what we do today!

 

We don’t have to … because many of you are generous

and want to follow God’s plan for taking care of the poor and the needy.

 

If your family income is $30,000 please consider giving 1% or $300.

If your family income is $60,000 please consider giving 1% or $600.

 

I can’t pay the balance if each family gives just $5.

1,300 families x $5 each would be just $6,500. ... that’s $78,000 shy of our goal!

 

My salary is just $19,000 a year ... but I give much more than 1% of $190.

Catholic Charities is my favorite charity and so I’ve increased my giving by $100 in each of the last 16 years. I just wrote a check for $1,600 for this appeal for 2020.

 

Please put Catholic Charities on your list of Charities ... it’s a powerful way to help the needy right here in the northern half of Alabama ... with a good portion being dispersed right here to the needy in Tuscaloosa, Northport and the surrounding areas.

 

Perhaps you’ll start out with just $20 ...  $50  or   $100.

 

Everything helps!

 

So please, fill out your Pledge card and mail it or bring it to Church next week.

 

At the offertory, you will have the chance to bring your pledge card forward to the altar and place it in a basket as a sign of giving of your first fruits back to God.

 

Now if on-line giving is more convenient for you,

you can log onto the Diocese of Birmingham web site

and pledge or donate there on-line!

 

Please be sure to enter your Parish name so that we get credit for your contribution.

 

Thank you for your past and your future generosity.

 

In the 3 years I’ve been here, we’ve made our goal every year.

And in the last 2 years, we were the first Parish out of 50 to make our goal!

I hope you saw the One Voice article commending you for your speedy support.

I’m so proud of you!

 

Please continue to favor our Parish and our Diocese with your financial support

 

Think how sad you’d be if you lost your Cell-phone …

well, Jesus would be a thousand times more sad to lose one of us!

 

As St. Paul said, Jesus came to save all … He came that none would be lost.

 

Let’s assist Jesus in going after the lost …

by giving to Catholic Charities ...

so together we can offer tangible assistance to others.

 

 Let’s show our gratitude for God’s many blessings …

by helping those in need with generous hearts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Announcement to the Hispanic Community

 

Dear Hispanic Community ...

 

Each year Bishop Baker takes up a special collection

to help all the needy that live in northern Alabama

people from all 50 Parishes

and even people that are not attending our Parishes.

 

This money is used to bring food, clothing and shelter to the very needy.

 

Assistance is also given to provide diapers and medicine

as well as

financial help with paying rent and utility bills.

 

Please make a significant contribution in the second collection next week for this important work of helping the needy right here in northern Alabama.

 

Thank you for your generosity in the past ...

and may God bless you for your generosity in the days ahead.

 

Sincerely, Father Deering,

Pastor of Holy Spirit Church.

 

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