A Note from Steve Hood, Parish Controller

A missionary in Africa had taught his people to tithe. He had explained that "tithe" meant "one-tenth," and that this should be their goal. He also had emphasized the difference between giving what is left over, and giving off the top. Early one morning a man came to the door with a fine fish, explaining that this was his "tithe". "You must have done well," said the missionary, "if you already caught 10 fish." "No," said the man. "This is the one I've caught so far. I'm going back now to catch the other nine."

The faith of this humble fisherman is very inspiring. He set his priority on giving to God first. This is very challenging to all of us. We live in a society that tells us the opposite. The most widespread misunderstanding about giving is that which assumes that giving is 'giving up' something, being deprived. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of love, charity and gratitude. How can we possibly “out-give” God. But not just giving of our treasure but giving of our time and talent as well.

Stewardship is a complete lifestyle, a life of total accountability and responsibility acknowledging God as Creator and Owner of all. Stewardship is responsible management of our God-given resources of time, talent, and treasure. It enhances our relationships with God and one another. Stewardship is living out a commitment to be Christ-centered rather than self-centered and involves a conversion of the heart. Stewardship is a lifelong journey with each person at a different place on the path.

Stewardship is alive here at St. Maria Goretti. What we have done here in 9 1/2 short years is nothing short of a miracle. Not just the physical buildings but the building of a community that is truly centered on the teachings of the Catholic Church and the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We have truly embraced stewardship.

As you know, we have much more to do. We are in the middle of the largest, most important campaign that we will EVER have here at St. Maria Goretti. About 70% of our families prayerfully made a financial commitment to build our church before we had the money to do so. This was a huge leap of faith. It was the right decision. Can you imaging how, today, we would have fit in the parish hall for mass? I humbly ask you folks that have a pledge to stay committed to it. So much of our future is riding on your pledge. And I would also ask that if you do not currently have a pledge to our building campaign, that you pray about it. New family participation is crucial to our future as well.

This week starts a new budget cycle here at St. Maria Goretti. Our fiscal year runs from July 1st thru June 30th. The number you will see in the bulletin starting in July (the weekend of July 2nd and 3rd) represents the revenue that we put into the budget for weekly Mass collections. You will see that our weekly budgeted offering number has increased from $35,400 to $39,700. This represents about an 11% increase over last year. This has been our average over the last few years. Our finance council has unanimously approved this years budget at their April meeting.

Keeping in mind the above reflection on stewardship, the fact that the gifts and talents that we have are from God, I ask that you revisit the “treasure” portion of your stewardship. Your Parish family thanks you for the sacrifices that you have made. In 9-1/2 short years we have accomplished so much and that is a direct result of the families of St. Maria Goretti understanding their commitment to God, their commitment to stewardship and their commitment to each other. We stand shoulder to shoulder here at St. Maria Goretti building God’s kingdom here in Westfield, Indiana. Thank you for all you do.

In Christ’s service,

Steve Hood

Baseball glove in Johnny’s hands—$20
Baseball glove in Johnny Bench’s hands—$2000
Number of people fed by five loaves and two fishes in the hands of the disciples—25
Number of people fed by five loaves and two fishes in the hands of Jesus—Countless
(It’s all about whose hands you put things in)