One of my grandkids just turned 7.
A singular personality, the little tyke came home from school recently and proclaimed to my daughter and her husband that they had talked about “the olden days” at school that day. When exactly were the olden days, his parents wanted to know?
The ‘80s.
The poor kid couldn’t understand why this elicited such an overwrought response from his parents, one of whom was born in the olden days, and the other barely missed. As a child of the ‘60s, I wonder how his teacher would characterize my era. Late Jurassic period, perhaps?
The episode caused me to think back to what I was up to during the olden days.
Happily, I have many memories of my own grandfather back then. When I was a kid, Grandpa was my hero. He was one of those gracious people who would focus every conversation on you, as if you were the most important person on earth.
We spent many hours together talking, playing games, fishing and trap shooting. (There’s something deeply satisfying about blowing a clay pigeon to smithereens with a shotgun). Joyful memories abound.
Among my grandfather’s enduring attributes was his generosity.
He used to pay me for any sort of task that he could dream up. Grandpa knew that he would get great value from my diligent efforts – partly because I was after the money, but mostly because I loved him.
Do you know who else is generous? You are.
My grandfather did some boxing in college. He might have said that people within the Diocese of Columbus are punching above their weight class. In particular, one area that jumped out recently is second collections.
There are a couple dozen second collections per year, and they’re incredibly important. They provide assistance to a wide variety of ministries:
- Retirement fund for religious
- Diocesan charities
- St. Vincent de Paul Society
- Propagation of the faith
- Black and Indian missions
- Catholic Relief Services
- Holy Father’s Peter’s Pence
- Church in Latin America
- Solidarity fund for the Church in Africa
- World Mission Sunday
This list isn’t exhaustive but illustrates the breadth of impactful causes – literally spanning the globe – that we support. You support.
Your contribution makes a difference, whether it’s saying “thank you” to priests and religious, helping them to age with dignity, feeding the hungry, assisting when disaster strikes or proclaiming the Gospel worldwide in word and deed.
Back in the olden days, when my super-cute wife and I were married, it wasn’t easy to contribute to second collections – sometimes, even the first. We had more kids than money for years (although that strategy eventually paid off in the form of grandkids).
There were definitely times along our journey when contributing was easier, and other times, quite a bit tougher. That might be the case with you as well, and that’s OK.
Remember the story of the widow’s mite? It’s not the amount that matters; it’s generosity of heart that we’re all called to cultivate.
If you’re interested in joining the second collection success story in the diocese, I invite you to consider using one of the electronic giving platforms provided by your parish. It’s not the only way to give, but it allows each of us to be intentional about our giving.
Most of my colleagues at the diocese think I’m nuts because I actually like budgeting. I know, it’s kind of strange.
Yet, budgeting and intentionality in our spending helps us to allocate resources in line with our faith and situation in life.
It’s good for the Church since it provides much-needed funds for diverse and important ministries. It’s also good for us, helping achieve greater detachment from things of this world and cultivate generosity that reflects the love of God.
Contemplate the phrase “ocean of mercy” for a while. It’s sheer divine generosity!
Whether you were around in the “olden days” or not, thank you for your generosity. You are making a difference in our community – and in our world.
May the Lord bless our collective efforts.
