Dear marafiki,
From my past homilies and stories, some of you know a few things about my late sister Mwajuma (Imelda). Now mwajuma (of happy memories) who was three years younger than me, got married (by the permission of my parents, who were more Catholics than Pope Francis) to a young man who wasn't Catholic. He was of an Anglican faith. And together they agreed to bring up their children as Anglicans. My sister was married in an Anglican church "with a Catholic blessing". Now, two things (instilled in all of us by our parents) she never stopped doing until the last moments of her life were: (a). She tithed every month, and (b). she never stopped saying her rosary until the day she died.
Another younger sister of mine, Sakina (Lilian) is married to a man who goes to one of the many protestant "sects" we have in Kenya. She joins her husband and children every Sunday. But like mwajuma, she says her rosary every day and tithes every month.
Supporting the church and prayer of the rosary has been part of our lives in our family since "the biblical Abraham was two years old." When my dad (of happy memories) died, he was up to date in his monthly tithes. But when my mum (of happy memories) passed on a couple of years ago, she was behind in her tithing by two months. I was partly to blame, because when she was ill, I was so much focused on her illness that I forgot to send some money to fulfill that obligation she rightly regarded as an important pillar in her Catholic faith. On the day I went to her pastor to make arrangements for her funeral, the first thing I did was to update her tithe records. I paid for her overdue tithes for July and August, and even for September (she died on September 23rd). She would have wished it that way.
Although my parents were poor, they did all within their power to support the church. They died blessed and enriched in so many ways beyond material wealth. They died happy and peaceful.
We have several passages, ranging from Acts of the Apostles, to the letters to the Corinthians, Romans, Galatians etc. in which we read that St. Paul collected funds from the gentile churches to support the church in Jerusalem, and especially to support the poor in that church. We also gather from these passages, that members of these churches gave willingly and joyfully. And so they were blessed immensely.
Annual Catholic Appeal and Parish Sacrificial Giving are the two major campaigns through which we support the ministries of the Archdiocese of Seattle, and of course the ministries of our own community here at St. John. These two great campaigns offer us an opportunity to directly participate in the ministry of Christ through our generosity to his church. They are also a great source of blessing to all of us who sincerely try so hard, and in our own way, to respond to this call cheerfully.
Since we are in the middle of the Annual Catholic Appeal, let me sincerely, and from the bottom of my heart, thank all those who have already made their pledges to fund this campaign, which supports the over 60 ministries within the Archdiocese of Seattle. I also thank all those who are still considering and planning to do so. My prayers are with you all.
- Our goal this year is $98.710
- We are at $54,598 (55%) pledged by only 142 families
- Many of our registered families are yet to participate in this campaign. I pray that they do so.
- 100% of the rebate will go towards offsetting losses we are incurring due to Covid-19, in that we have not been able to have our "regular attendance" at mass in the church.
- The best way to donate is online. But donations can still be made by phone or by mail.
I thank and bless my God for all of you! Each one of you is a gift to Our Community and a blessing in my life.
I bless each and every one of you in the name of our Lord Jesus!
Baraka ya Yesu
Padre Crispin Okoth
