February
25, 2007
Basket
Case
Convent
Countdown
Still
waiting for a new tenant...tick...tick...tick...
The police department has now moved out so we’re no longer receiving
monthly rent.
Thanks to all who are praying and to those who are sending prospective
tenants our way.
Freedom
Coming
We’re getting very excited about our Lenten retreats that are
going to be offered this Lent on Tuesdays starting on March 6th. We’ll
have an afternoon session in St. Anthony’s Hall right after the
12:10 mass and an evening session at 7:30pm in Code Auditorium.
Our basic theme is
“From Slavery to Freedom”.
It’s also based on the speech Moses gives this first Sunday of
Lent. God indeed frees people from what “enslaves” them
and we can live life in the promised land. I urge you to come to the
retreat -- it’s like having a rest stop through the journey of
Lent.
Online
Masses
We are now going to be able to stream masses and other events live over
the internet to homebound folks and to relatives who live in other lands.
If you’re interested in this, in this, click
here.
Away
at College?
Are you or your child away at college? At St. Brigid’s we like
to stay in touch via occasional e-mails as we send photos and news from
“home”. College students wishing to be connected through
our “Letters from home” can sign up online here
or you can mail or
e-mail thecollege names and e-mail addresses to Father Ralph and he’ll
put them on the list.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
Feb18: Ashes and Desert
Dust
Feb11: Get Ready, Get Set,
REST!
Feb.4: Lent Lurking
Jan.28:Catholic Schools
Week
Jan.21:Crying in Church
Jan.14: Love ahead
Jan.7:
So How Was Your Christmas?
Columns
from 2005
Columns
from 2004
Columns from
2003
Columns from 2002
Each
week, people make an offering to God and put it in a collection basket
and then the money is brought up and put before the altar. How did we
ever decide this was the way we ought to support the work of the church?
After all we could sell admission tickets, or levy a “church tax”
on members or assess dues or come up with some other form of asking people
to contribute.
The answer lies in the first reading
this first Sunday of Lent. Moses tells the people, “The priest shall
receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of
the LORD, your God.”
And why? Moses then tells how people are to be grateful for what God has
done for them -- most especially that he freed them from slavery in Egypt
and brought them to the promised land. In essence he says, “God
has blessed us, so we give some of those blessings back to God.”
And not just the “leftovers”, he tells them. When you give
you ought to say, “I have now brought you the first fruits of the
products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.’ And having
set them before the Lord, your God, you shall bow down in his presence.”
Last Lent I wrote to all parishioners
asking them to take a step in making an offering to God in our weekly
collection. Many people took a step -- some took a BIG step, some took
a tiny step, (some even chose to take a step backwards) but I was impressed
at how seriously people considered what they were giving to the church,
in order for us to continue the work of Jesus. Our weekly collections
increased an average of 16 percent. Thank you. We were closer to our goal
of having our income meet our expenses. (We did get hit with extra expenses,
though and worked toward balancing the budget with our “Christmas
in August” campaign.)
This Lent I will again be mailing
the “Take A Step” card to our parishioners. It is a good way
for each of us to pause and consider what Moses urged the people: how
does what we put in the basket reflect our gratitude to God?
One more thing, Moses didn’t
have a way to do automated giving. We do! (So consider filling the basket
electronically.)
