Time to reach a little deeper

Two stories from parishes in the Albany Diocese:

* Last weekend, a priest introduced the Diocese's new increased offertory campaign with a joke: An elderly woman ran a pretzel stand in New York City. Above the stand, a sign read, "Pretzels, 25 cents." One day, a man was passing by and saw that she looked haggard and tired. Sympathizing, he lay a quarter on the counter and, without taking a pretzel, walked away. Each day for months, the man left a quarter on the counter.

One day, the woman stopped him. "I know; you're going to ask why I always leave a quarter and don't take a pretzel," the man said. "Not at all," the pretzel-seller responded. "I was just going to tell you that the price has gone up to 35 cents."

* Several months ago at another parish, a family of five sat together in a back pew. When the time came for the offertory collection, the father tossed a folded bill into the basket -- and a murmur went up from his children, who told their mother in astonishment, "Did you see what Dad did? He put a FIVE in the basket!" The wife then glared at her husband, aghast at his generosity.

We all expect the Church -- embodied in a church building -- to be here for us forever. We want our children baptized, our marriages to take place where we can truly "walk down the aisle," our loved ones to get Catholic funerals. Even hit-and-miss churchgoers want the reassurance of being able to return for Christmas Mass, to recite the prayers memorized in childhood and smell incense in a warm, crowded church.

But that can't happen without money. As much as the Church is a non-profit organization, it needs to house and feed its clergy, keep its buildings in good repair, and hire the person who answers the phone at the parish office. It costs money to train the catechists who prepare children to receive their First Communion or Confirmation, and to pay the organists who provide music for marriages and funerals.

But the average Catholic puts about one percent of his or her annual income into the collection basket -- an astonishingly low figure compared to many other faiths.

In the next couple of weeks (see article on page 1), the Albany Diocese will institute the next phase of a six-part stewardship effort: a campaign to increase its offertory collections by 25 percent, or about $3 to $5 per household. All the money dropped into the basket will stay at the parish level.

Diocesan officials have stated that they're not asking Catholics to empty their pockets or give more than they're able. But they have noted that over the years, Church expenses have risen and donations have not.

Let's not astonish our children by giving five dollars one time to support the faith we're raising them in. Let's so astonish them with our generosity that, like the pretzel seller, the Church can be assured of our help and support.

For all we receive, let's give something back.

(10-21-99)

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