Reflections: 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

This Sunday's readings are remarkable and full of powerful imagery for married couples.

The first reading (Prv 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) talks of the value of a "worthy wife", being "far beyond pearls", "an unfailing prize", bringing "good, and not evil, all the days of her life."

It goes on to say:
"Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting;
the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Give her a reward for her labors,
and let her works praise her at the city gates."

The second reading (1 Thes 5:1-6) reminds us that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night" and extends this imagery of a good, loving, dutiful spouse and extends it to use as a church.

"For all of you are children of the light
and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do,
but let us stay alert and sober."

So what are we to do until this day of the lord comes? What makes us "an unfailing prize" as in the wife in the book of Proverbs?

Our answer lies in the Gospel (Mt 25:14-30), when our Lord makes it clear that he desires a Return On Investment (ROI) on the talents which the Spirit has entrusted to us. Not a negative gain... not break-even.  A return.

Interestingly, this leads right back to the quote that I chose to put onto a plaque that I gave each member of our parish council at our annual dinner last month.

It's by Erma Bombeck, and reads:

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'"

Well said!

What talents do we have from God to use in our own marriages? With our children? In our households?  But beyond that, what talents are we using to build up the kingdom?  Which ones are we not using as fully as we could?

Church Offering – Adults & Kids

When I was a kid, we had cool little envelopes that we could put spare change in and put into the collection basket at church when it was passed. They handed them out to us at school (it was a parochial school, of course) and we used them at Mass. They weren't big - at most you could fit two quarters and possibly a dime. And there was barely enough lick-and-seal on the back to hold it shut, so Scotch tape became half the weight of the overall, ready-to-deposit package. But it was a good lesson in giving and stewardship, and it provided the good feeling and grace of being able to contribute when everyone else did during the collection at Mass.

Nowadays, things aren't all that different.  Suzanne and I get a packet of envelopes in the mail every two months. They have our household number pre-printed (to aid in tax deduction accounting) and there's an envelope for every week, plus for special Masses and feast days. You still couldn't fit much more than two quarters and possibly a dime into them, but they're now conveniently just wide enough to fit a check into on a good day.

We make every effort to give generously out of the abundance with which we've been blessed, and our parish makes every effort. In fact, on the offertory envelope (using just one check), we can designate amounts for (1) the general parish operating fund, (2) the "Protecting Parish Pride" (building renovation / improvement) fund, (3) the school operating fund, and (4) a write-in space to contribute to any other ministry or project at the parish. Some weeks, we can't give as much. Some weeks, we're able to contribute a bit more. But such is the life of giving, I suppose.

This year at Holy Family, we've implemented a new program to bring back childrens' stewardship AND to encourage Mass attendance by our parish school families (which had been dwindling in recent years.)

As recently as last year, the average percentage of eligible (Catholic) school children who were at Sunday Mass each week was as low as 40%.

As a parish pastoral council, along with the school board, we advised encouraged Father to confront this problem in a very straightforward way that also contributed to the idea of encouraging childrens' stewardship.

A new requirement was put in place at the beginning of this school year that all Catholic school children were expected to be at Mass every weekend. If the child and family could not attend Mass for one reason or another, a written explanation from the parents was to be sent to Father. If the family was away or traveling, a priest-signed bulletin from the parish that was visited would suffice.

Here's the kicker: Catholic parishioner school families that did not fulfill this requirement this year would be assessed the higher, non-parishioner tuition starting next school year.

Father composed a beautiful letter that was also signed - in concurrence - by the principal and by the parish pastoral council chairman.  (The full text of the letter is after the jump, and a PDF of it is here.)  It was mailed to all school families over the summer, given to them at school business day at the start of the school year, and printed in the parish bulletin for the parish at large to read.

There was some grumbling up front, for the first couple of weeks. But it quickly subsided. And we started to see more and more and more new, young, faces at Mass.  Young families that we had never (or very seldom) seen before.

And now, a few months in, they continue to join us every Sunday. And the less-than-enthusiastic faces are turning into happy faces, glad to be part of the community and to worship and participate in the Mass.

The kids have envelopes on which they write their name. They can or can't put an offering (there's no requirement thereof) depending on circumstances. And they bring their envelope up to a special "Childrens Envelopes" basket in front of the altar before Mass begins.

At the very end of Mass, Father gives them an added bonus (which also helps ensure they stay to the very end)... he draws one envelope from the basket and calls the child forward to receive a small gift (usually a candy bar.) Only once has the family already left when the child's name was called, and that becomes quite a different story.

The kids are also able to write something on the envelope that expresses some act of mercy they've performed through the week, something they're thankful for, or some talent with which they've been blessed that they can offer to others. Here's a sampling from the last few months of those notes on the kids' envelopes:

• I pray for all the poor, that they may have a warm bed to sleep in every night.
• The talent God gave me is handstands.
• I said the Divine Mercy Prayer for my Grandpa sick in the hospital.
• I pray for all the sick and homeless animals in the world, and for all of them who are endangered.
• I tried to include a classmate at recess when he was by himself.
• God loves us and takes care of us always.
• I would like to thank you for the wonderful world I live in, The wonderful family I have. Also to all the brave soldiers who protect us.
• I thank you for dying on the cross for us, and lastly, I want to thank you for making me!

In addition, the total amount the children give is printed on its own line in the next week's bulletin, so they can see the fruits of their efforts in supporting the parish.

But more notably, in just a few short months, bringing back the childrens' envelopes tied in with an effort to get our school kids and their families back to Sunday Mass, has been an overwhelming success.  The percentage of eligible (Catholic) school students who are at Sunday Mass has risen from around 40% last year to over 90% this year.

Not to mention the best part of it - the increased participation in our community of all of the families that we had been missing for so very long.

Praise be to God!

(Don't forget - the letter that started the whole thing is after the jump.)