Catholic Services Appeal 2025-2026
Catholic Services Appeal 2025-2026
First, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your generous support of our parish and the annual Catholic Service Appeal (CSA). Your generosity makes a difference. This weekend is the KICK-OFF of our annual CSA 2025-2026. The theme for this year's appeal is “Encountering Christ, Transforming Lives.”
Sometimes we ask why I need to give my money to the diocese. It can be used in my local church. It is a valuable thought. The reality is that we are part of the universal church; we are part of the bigger mission. Whether promoting vocations, educating future priests, providing lay ministry formation, teaching, evangelizing, and ministering to youth, young adults, and those in need, diocesan ministries extend beyond the capacity of any single parish to support. We benefit from the diocese in so many ways. You should have received the CSA booklet in the mail. It will give you pictures and explanations of how our money is used and how many lives you have touched.
The goals for this year for our parishes are St. Anthony, $32,619.00; Immaculate Conception, $12,489; and St. Francis, $4,371. Let us respond to Bishop Power’s invitation and make it a successful one. If everyone commits, we can reach the goal in two or three weekends. Let us be part of a miracle and witness a miracle.
Parish Mission Apostolate! Thank you to everyone who joined for the Parish Mission—a special thanks to our evangelization team, and all those who helped them to make it happen. I hope you enjoyed the time of prayer and worship, talks, and the opportunity for Confession and Holy Hour. For those who were unable to participate, I would like to provide a snapshot of the main presentation. It was based on Fr. John Ricardo from ACTS XXIX Ministries. If you read Bishop Power’s pastoral letter, it is summarized in his letter. Fr. Ricardo summarizes the Gospel into four stages: 1. Created – God loves you. God Himself says that He formed your inmost being (Psalm 139:13), counted the hairs on your head (Matthew 10:40), and knows your heart (1 Samuel 16:7). 2. Captured – We alone cannot overcome the power of evil, but with God, everything is possible. We need God. 3. Rescued – From the moment of the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, God has been searching for us to bring back His love and companionship. So, God the Father sent his only begotten Son to pay our debt and make us free. 4. Response – Christ won the victory for us, and it's our turn to respond. We may respond in two primary ways: “we can ignore his saving work, or we can surrender to the Lordship of Jesus in a life of discipleship and worship.” The question is, which is our way?
Reading: Today’s reading invites us to reflect on sins of omission. The first reading is from the prophet Amos (6:1a, 4-7). During the time of Amos, the Davidic kingdom was divided into two: Israel, the northern kingdom with its capital at Samaria, and Judah, the Southern kingdom with its capital at Jerusalem. Amos was a sheep breeder of Tekoa in Judah, but God called him to prophesy in the northern kingdom during the prosperous reign of Jeroboam II. They delighted in the pleasures that money could buy, and yet they gave no thought to the misery they had brought upon others. Amos warns them that they shall be “the first of those to go into exile” (6:7).
Today’s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31), the story of the rich Man and Lazarus, tells us what is expected of us as disciples of Christ. In Jewish tradition, they believed that poverty and sickness are the result of God’s punishment. Deuteronomy 28:58&59, “If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which is written in this book, and to fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD, your God, the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants wondrous calamities, severe and constant calamities, and malignant and constant sicknesses.” For the rich, wealth is God’s blessing so that they can live a luxurious life. We read in Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.” In the character of the rich man, we can see the evidence of love for money and lack of mercy for the poor Lazarus. We don’t see in the Gospel that he is doing anything against Lazarus. However, we can see that he ignored Lazarus and did not help him in his time of hardship.
The interesting aspect of this story is that God gave the poor man a name, Lazarus, which means God is my help. Despite a life of misfortune and suffering, Lazarus placed his trust in God. In the second part of the story, Lazarus enjoys heavenly bliss as a reward for his fidelity to God despite his poverty and suffering. At the same time, the rich man is thrown down into the excruciating suffering of Hell as punishment for not showing mercy to Lazarus, who was in need.
The question may come to our mind: why was the rich man punished? Did he commit any sin? The sins of the rich man are the sins of omission, although he did not drive either the poor Lazarus or the stray dogs from in front of his door, nor did he prevent either from sharing the discarded crumbs and leftovers from his table. He did not kick Lazarus. He was not cruel to him. But he failed to recognize Lazarus as a human being and a brother. He did no wrong, but he did nothing good, either. In the Catholic teaching, that is the sin of omission: not doing what one is supposed to do.
What is the sin omission? If we leave undone the good or the duties to which those obligations bind us, we commit sins of omission. In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man does not recognize the needy. What are some of our sins of ommission?