As mentioned last week and last month, today’s homily is about financial giving to the parish. Five years ago, I told the story about a man whose dog died. He went to his priest and asked the priest to do a funeral for his dog, and the priest said, “I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t do those kinds of funerals. Maybe you could go to the church down the road; maybe they’ll do something for you.” The man said, “Okay, thank you, Father. Do you think $500 will be enough for them?” And the priest said, “Wait! You didn’t tell me your dog was Catholic!”
Speaking of which, I saw this movie years ago in which they were making fun of churches that try to get people’s money, and the choir was singing, ‘Cash, or cheque, or Mastercard,’ and the choir would repeat in harmony, ‘Mastercard!!!’.
For a bit of context, in nine years here, I’ve asked only once for an increase in financial giving, during 2017, and then, in 2021, the parish Finance Council approved that we would run a deficit budget, that is, spend our operational budget more aggressively on spiritual growth, knowing that God would provide. Today, two and a half years later, I’m thankful to God that there is great spiritual growth in us and the people around us: We now have had seven people this year become Catholic (which is the most ever for us); we have a discipleship pathway: Alpha, Faith Studies, Journey Through Scripture, Marian Consecration offered once to three times a year (and we hope to add a more academic theological group in the future).
In addition, pay attention to how our young people are spiritually maturing: While we’re grateful that they are the backbone of our choirs and servers, enriching the celebration of Mass every single week, as a whole, they’ve grown in prayerfulness, generosity, and making Jesus the center of their lives. I don’t think I ever mentioned it, but two years ago, the Gr. 7 class from our school was the spiritually strongest we ever had. This doesn’t mean other classes didn’t have incredible students, but, as a whole, they were the most open to God and hungry for Him. And now our current Gr. 7 class is the spiritually strongest, really trying to follow Jesus.
This is only my assessment, but, if it’s correct, then it points to the parents, the teenagers, and young adults. The parents have grown so they’re influencing their children, the young adults have been doing youth ministry for the past few years, and there’s a synergy happening. When they grow closer to God it makes it easier for the next generation to do so. This is the way it should be: Each generation is closer to God than the previous! In the next seven years, the current kindergarten class should be holier and more missionary than we are! Having said all this, I want to thank all of you for financially enabling this growth; even during COVID, you were so generous that we never stopped growing. Thank you! And now Finance Council has told us that to sustain this growth, we need to ask for increased weekly giving, if possible.
Let’s go through the Second Reading in four steps, because it’s partially about financial support.
1) The first thing to note is that it’s an excerpt of a bigger portion of St. Paul’s letter. Here’s our Reading:
“I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.
My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Phil 4:12-14, 19-20)
and here’s the actual text:
“I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress.
You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Phil 4:10-20)
Sometimes the Church focuses our attention on a small portion of the Scriptures, but the problem is that we lose context.
2) St. Paul begins: “I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it” (Phil 4:10). The ‘concern’ to which he’s referring is the money which the Philippians sent him through St. Epaphroditus, to help him while he’s in prison. There was some delay in sending it, but we don’t know why.
3) “Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have” (4:11). He’s speaking about what some writers have termed spiritual ‘self-sufficiency,’ meaning that we accept whatever God gives us. He continues: “I know what it is to have little [to be humbled], and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (4:12-13). He gives three pairs of opposite situations he’s experienced: being treated poorly or well by others, being hungry or well-fed, and having enough money or not. He’s not saying it’s good to suffer, but he accepts it as Christ did, because Christ experienced all these things for our sake, to save us and give us an example. And so Paul is peaceful when suffering and grateful when thriving.
Furthermore, the secret about which he’s talking, that he wants to share with the Philippians, is that he can ‘do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me.’ It’s not a metaphor when we say that Christ dwells in us. Just as the human soul is real but invisible, so is grace. There are manifold real things that have no physical properties: God, angels, love, willpower, determination, courage. So, when we say that Jesus strengthens us, it refers to the fact that He dwells in our souls and gives us courage to love when difficult.
4) Having talked about self-sufficiency in Christ, Paul still expresses appreciation for the Philippians’ financial support: “In any case, it was kind of you to share my distress” (4:14), and spends the next four verses thanking them as opposed to other Christians who never helped him: “You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you alone. For even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account” (4:15-17). This is why young people should donate money. If you receive an allowance or ever have at least a part-time job, learn to give money to the poor, because St. Paul is telling them that giving benefits the giver, and it’s good to start young. The theological truth is: Generosity is our privilege. It makes us like God.
So, for us today, this means our ultimate strength rests in God and in prayer, but we do have a financial need to sustain our staff and these programs.
For better or for worse, we do the opposite of what most organizations do: See a need, then raise the money, and then start the program. However, when people see a need here, I tell them to start the program, and then we’ll ask for money to support it! We needed to evangelize, so we started Alpha in 2016, and then hired someone six years later. We want to grow spiritually, so we start Faith Studies in 2015, and hire someone in 2022. I bring this up because there has been much growth in the past six years without asking for increased giving. And we’re so grateful to the volunteers for this!
To end, I’d like to ask you to ponder two questions: What does our parish family mean to you? When I’m away, I always look forward to coming back because I love the way we do things. When you visit other parishes, are you spiritually fed more than here? If so, you should go there! If you’re more fed here, that leads to the second question: Will you help continue our growth in faith?
We always talk about sacrificial giving. When we give to God’s mission, it should hurt at least a little—that means it’s generous. If you’re able to increase your donation a lot, that would be incredible. If you’re able to increase it only by a dollar, that, too, would be incredible. Choose a number and ask if that’s sacrificial for you. And, if you discern now that you need to decrease your donation because that’s what God wants you to do, then you must do what He wants. It’s His money.
Upon reflection, if none of this works, I’m going to start charging for Confessions, and even start a frequent flyer program for our most valued customers!
Thank you again! I am thankful for who you are, and for all you’ve done to get us to this point! St. Paul finishes acknowledging that God will take care of all of us: “My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen” (4:19-20). Generosity is our privilege. It makes us like God.