Active Membership Pillar: Regular Financial Support of the Parish

In today’s first reading from Deuteronomy, we hear Moses tell the Israelite people, "If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes,” (30:10). Then, in the Gospel from Luke, Jesus fulfills the Old Testament law by giving us the two great commandments, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself,” (10:27) . The two commandments are clear and concise: love God, love your neighbor.

But who is our neighbor, and how do we love them? Again, Jesus gives us the parable of the Good Samaritan, a very familiar story. As a child, I always focused on how the Samaritan physically tended to the wounds of the man. As an adult, I recognize other aspects of the story. Where was the Samaritan going? How badly was his trip delayed? How much did those two silver coins set him back, and did he have to pay the innkeeper more? All of these questions swirl in my head, and scripture does not answer them. Rather, it tells us that those questions do not matter. What matters is that we are to love God and love our neighbor without exception just like the Samaritan, who used his own money to care for a complete stranger. We, too, can love our neighbor through our own regular charitable giving to Lumen Christi. One very tangible way that the parish loves our neighbor is through its Works of Mercy Small Grant program distributed twice a year. It is funded through bequests and also a percentage of the annual envelopes and offertory. Please consider how your regular financial contribution to the parish is a way to fulfill the two great commandments.  

Giving