Grateful giving

Friday, Apr. 08, 2016

Being a cheerful giver is difficult enough for me in the best of times, and this past month certainly doesn’t qualify for that description. An unexpected car repair wiped out my contingency fund, and there also were two other significant unplanned purchases, which means my finances are rather precarious at the moment.

I’m extremely uncomfortable carrying debt, so after I paid the monthly bills and saw the woeful remaining bank balance, I closed my wallet, checkbook and credit card case to everything except the absolute bare necessities.

At which point I received the envelope for the Diocesan Development Drive.

Most of you know that the DDD provides the operating funds for the diocese’s ministries, of which the Intermountain Catholic is one. Standing at the mailbox with DDD envelope in hand, I had the unworthy thought that sending in a check was unnecessary. Why do I need to assist the diocese financially? Wouldn’t pledging to the DDD in essence be paying my own salary, or that of my co-workers? Isn’t the work that I do day in and day out all year long sufficient payment?

As those thoughts were passing through my mind, the theme of this year’s DDD drive caught my eye: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”

That verse happens to be the very one that struck me most powerfully during my retreat last year. The DDD letter reminded me of that experience, which came about only because through work I met the priest who recommended that I go, and it was because of experiences at work that I was even open to the idea of attending a weeklong retreat. 

The verse, originally from Hosea but repeated by Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel, didn’t leave my thoughts as I carried the mail into the house, and the emphasis on mercy led me to think about the ministries funded by the DDD. 

Depending how you count, the diocese offers 30 ministries that range from vocations to family life to persons with disabilities to rural missions outreach. Every one of them does what they can, with the limited resources on hand, to strengthen and advance the faith in the Diocese of Salt Lake City.

Because of my job, I’m able to see the ways in which much of the DDD funding is used. Just a few examples: 15 men are expected to be ordained as deacons next year, and we have 10 seminarians preparing for the priesthood.  The Pastoral Center offers training and support to laypeople who are active in parish ministries such as religious education, and dozens of people are enrolled in the lay ecclesial ministry formation program. This paper often reports on the many good things occurring in our Catholic schools and at Catholic Community Services. Pastoral Center ministries also reach out to persons with disabilities, to those in jail, to the hospitalized. 

In all of this, we show mercy.

That thought led me to recall something Brother Guy Consolmagno said during one of his talks here in Utah: You can consider chocolate a source of temptation and feel guilty when you eat it, or you can believe that chocolate is a gift from God and therefore enjoy it as a way of giving praise to the creator.

So, I can grudgingly write the check to DDD, feeling it a sacrifice of my hard-earned dollars, or I can give willingly, viewing it as an act of mercy. I can see my deflated bank balance, or I can envision those who will benefit from the services that money will provide. 

I know which attitude God would prefer.