3rd Sunday of Lent
Pastor
~ The Precepts of the Church are five mandatory minimum requirements for Catholic faithful, designed to ensure basic growth in spirit, prayer, and moral effort. The Catechism of the Catholic Church lays out the five precepts, which include:
• You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.
• You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
• You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
• You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church.
• You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
As I mentioned, these are the minimal requirements for Catholics! Most of us receive the Eucharist regularly, and many celebrate Reconciliation more frequently. Also, there are many other things that mark us as Christians and Catholics, from very simple things like being kind to one another to very complicated things like canon law. For now, I would like to focus on the fifth and final precept: You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church.
Basically, this means that every Catholic should contribute personally and financially to the Church and their parish. Many of you do this regularly and generously, and I am very grateful for your contributions. But there are many ways to give and many things to give to, so it’s worth some consideration as we contemplate our almsgiving and charity during Lent.
Many give regularly to the parish through their Sunday envelopes or through electronic giving. Electronic giving is preferred, since it allows the parish to have a steady income, and gives you freedom from envelopes and checks. Your Sunday donations go directly to the parish and help pay the salary and benefits of our employees, faculty, and staff, as well as utilities, insurance, and capital projects. Throughout the year, St. Margaret has some extraordinary collections, like donating to the Annual Catholic Appeal each spring; our Parish Lenten Project during Lent; the Missionary Appeal each summer; Christmas Outreach benefitting the St. Vincent de Paul Society; or special collections after natural disasters around the world. These monies do not go to the parish but are paid directly to these groups.
Also, throughout the year, there are nearly 20 special collections. These appear as special envelopes in your packet, or as special donations online. They include such things as the St. Louis Review, our Archdiocesan newspaper, in January; the collection for Retired Priests on Easter Sunday; Cardinal Glennon Hospital in June; Peter’s Pence for the charities of the Holy Father in June; World Mission Sunday in October; and the Seminary collection on Christmas. While the parish collects these donations, we forward them directly to the Archdiocese of St. Louis to disburse for these various ministries and groups. I encourage you to support these collections as a sign of solidarity with the wider Church, so please be attentive to these envelopes when they appear, or go online to your giving portal to give electronically. Again, these donations do not go to the parish, so if you use an envelope for, say, Catholic Relief Services, thinking that it all goes to the parish, that is not the case. It will go to Catholic Relief Services.
Some of these collections may be more important to you than others, and that is OK! You may want to give to the Retirement Fund for Religious, but not give to Catholic University, and that is your choice. Whatever you give, I want to encourage you to be mindful and purposeful in your giving.
You may notice there is an envelope in your packet for Easter flower donations (and there is one for Christmas flowers, too). Using these envelopes or donating electronically to these collections helps keep our Church beautiful during these festive seasons.
All this is to say that I encourage every household to regularly consider your giving to the parish and to charity. Please be mindful of what envelopes you are using, what you are giving to the parish, and what goes to our special collections, and make adjustments accordingly. As always, thanks for your generosity to St. Margaret of Scotland, our Archdiocese of St. Louis, and the Church Universal. May God reward your giving!
