Saint Joseph Parish…

• honors your financial contributions and uses them for building up the Kingdom of God.
• is a place of financial transparency and accountability.

As parishioners, we…

• give in order to do the work of the Gospel.
• bring our offering to Sunday Eucharist as a thanksgiving for what we’ve been given.
• give generously of our financial resources in proportion to what we have received.

When we share our financial blessings by giving to the Sunday collection, we are ensuring that we can continue growing disciples through our outreach programs, our school, our adult education classes, and all of our wonderful ministries.   In our recent “Building Disciples, Sharing Gifts” Increased Offertory Program, Saint Joseph parishioners responded with great generosity, committing to contribute each week in the Sunday collection.  This is a clear indication that we know the love of Christ as members of His Church. When we feel blessed, we want to give back.  And it’s a clear indication that we want others to experience that same love, those same blessings, and we believe our Church can facilitate that.  Every time we bring our offerings to Mass, we are casting our lots with each other in a shared effort to grow the Kingdom of God.  That is powerful! 

 

Of course, as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to give of ourselves in many different ways.  In fact, we GIVE of ourselves in each of the 5 expectations that are part of our Parish Vision:  we give of ourselves when we come together to WORSHIP; when we give time and effort in order to GROW in the knowledge of our Christian faith; when we SERVE others selflessly; when we share ourselves with others as we CONNECT with them; and, when we GIVE generously of our financial resources.

 

Let’s look at the One who shows us how to give:  Jesus, our Savior.  As we heard in the Gospel account for the First Sunday of Lent (Matthew 4:1-11), Jesus gave Himself totally to us for our salvation, even to the point of allowing Satan to tempt Him.  Let that sink in.  The God who created the universe humbled Himself to become one of us, knowing that He would be subjected to all the ugly temptations that bring us to our knees:  the desire for material things, worldly strength, the approval of others.  But because Jesus knew He was God’s beloved Son, He trusted God completely and gave Himself entirely to the Father’s will and mission, and He never gave in to any temptation.  Jesus shows us that we too, as beloved children of our heavenly Father, can overcome temptation and abide in His goodness when we give ourselves completely and generously to God. 

            Stewardship Prayer
My parish is composed of people like me. I help make it what it is.
It will be friendly, if I am. It will be holy, if I am.
Its pews will be filled, if I help fill them.
It will do great work, if I work. It will be prayerful, if I pray.
It will make generous gifts to many causes, if I am a generous giver.
It will bring others into worship, if I invite and bring them in.
It will be a place of loyalty and love, of fearlessness and faith,
of compassion, charity and mercy, if I, who make it what it is,
am filled with these same things.
Therefore, with the help of God, I now dedicate myself to the task of being all the things that I want my parish to be.
Amen.

-Father Rozman's Homily March 1, 2020