Gen 14:18 And Mel-chizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said,
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
maker of heaven and earth;
20 and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.1
Many of us have our favorite charities. I would encourage you to vet your charities, make certain that your donations get to those to whom you are giving, and not bloated administrations. Please also remember your parish. It is a reality that churches do need money to survive. If you attend, certainly you enjoy and have bought into the ministry of that parish, support it! In SJV, we have around 40 families. It takes $3000.00 a week to make our budget. (12k a month). Some have more means, others have less, but if you simply divide 40 into 3000, you get $75 a week. Again to some this is impossible, to others, this would be easy, but please use this as a baseline. If you cannot give this much please use this as a goal, if this is a small amount to your budget, please give for those who cannot.
2) Confession. Go to confession. We should all examine our conscience every night before bed. Pay attention to how we have offended God and our neighbor. If you cannot find at least one venial sin each night, you are oblivious to your true life...everyone sins. When you find a mortal sin, remember it or write it down. Go to confession at least once every one or two months. You do not have to have confession in your parish, you may go to any Catholic Church, but make certain you go.
3) Service. To serve our fellow man is a foundational element to Christianity. Do you volunteer? This would include church or community. We have many ministries within SJV like altar guild, usher, catechists (Sunday school teachers) just to name a few. In our community ministries such as the Cleburne pregnancy center, of the food pantry are available. Be active in some ministry, this is God’s call.
4) Rule of Life. A rule of life is a schedule of prayer and good works. This can also include such things as fasting. When do you pray? When do you fast? When do you serve? These are all things that should be on your calendar just as a business meeting. These should also be “hard” items on your calendar, meaning only the most dire circumstance moves them. Find the rule of life that fits your schedule, and live by it. If you need help, come see me and we will together find a rule that fits your life.
5) Fellowship. Yes, fellowship. We need down time, we need a time to do the things that make us relax. Without fellowship in our lives, we will find all of the above almost impossible to do. Nurture your friendships, have hobbies, and participate in church gatherings; this is important.
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1Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). (1994). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition (Ge 14:18–20). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
