St. Catherine of Siena Parish

Witness Talk: Building Our Future Capital Campaign - Catholic Giving
Edward A. Kopko
October 24, 2009

I have decided to respond to St. Catherine’s needs in these challenging times, and Sister Mary asked me to explain my process in reaching this decision.

I am not trying to influence your own decision in any regard, but as you reflect upon our church’s needs, you may find my experience useful in making your own decision.

I have been a Catholic all my life, sometimes fallen and sometimes fervent. I have always supported the church with weekly donations and my lector ministry, but I was daunted by Sister Mary's request because I never actually thought about Catholic giving in the way that I needed to in order to speak to you today.

I am embarrassed to say that my very first thoughtless reaction was, "not again, I just paid the last pledge." That feeling quickly left me, and I began a more reflective approach.

I thought about whether I was going to give at all. Then I considered why I would give. Next I thought about how I was going to give. And finally I thought about what I would give.

The first part of this process was the smoothest and the quickest. Who among us could refuse Sister Mary's vital appeal after all she does for our community. She is in harness 24 hours a day, devoutly tending to every task of this church. Of course, I would give.

Why, and how, and what I would give required more reflection. As I mulled these questions, I was startled to realize that our Lord provided all the guidance I needed.

"God so loved the world that he gave his only son."

If there is one thing that the New Testament teaches, it is that God is love, and those of us who claim to believe in him ought to love one another as he has loved us.

This is the motivation behind all Catholic giving: we share what we have with others because, as believers, we are called to be imitators of God. Our goal and purpose in this life is to open our hearts to the Lord so that the fruits of his love flow through our hands directly to the lives of others. Jesus says in John 15:5 "I am the vine and you are the branches." God calls upon us to live in a way that places his gifts—our time, our relationships, our intellectual abilities, our resources—for the love of each other. The act of giving is the expression of a genuinely Catholic universal view.

I now remembered well why I was to give, and I focused on how I was to give.

Corinthians answered this question:

"Each must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

Being pressured into giving will never allow you to feel the great joy of sharing God’s gifts in love with each other. A cheerful giver feels this joy through the Holy Spirit.

Now, I only had to resolve what to give, and Corinthians provided this answer as well:

"But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."

Luke say that: "For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask more."

The message is clear: our possessions are to be used not merely for our own enjoyment but for the benefit of the world around us.

At the end of this process, I realized that the joy of giving could not begin to flow into my life until I made a commitment to put our Lord’s scriptural principles into practice.

This commitment to God’s teachings made the commitment to St. Catherine’s a joyous, rewarding, fulfilling act of faith.