The single most important aspect of our lives is how we serve, worship and honor God. Our worship of God centers on how we as a community gather on the Lord’s Day to offer him honor, praise and sacrifice. Part of our devotion to the Lord is to come to Mass every Sunday (or Saturday) with a heart of faith, a spirit of gratitude and a conscience that is sincere, humble and contrite. We also come with a gift, an offering, a contribution and a sacrifice of the material and financial resources that the Lord has given to us and our family. We come with an attitude and an offering that is acceptable to the Lord!

The fiscal year for the Diocese of Lafayette is from July of one year to June of the following year. As your Pastor, it is my duty to give to you the devoted members of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish a financial report for the past twelve months: July of 2015 to June of 2016. During the past months, you have given $748,112 to the Offertory Collection and $133,681 to the Debt and Building Fund. The total of these two amounts comes to $881,793! As your Pastor, I commend, thank and applaud you for your generosity, your consistency and your commitment to the Lord and
to being good stewards of the resources that the Lord has given you. On an average, you give $16,957 each week to the Lord and to the support of the needs of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. During the past year, we also have
received $8,743 from a Trust Fund that was given to St. Elizabeth Seton several years ago; this Trust is managed by Capital One Bank in Baton Rouge.

Over the past twelve months, there were second and special collections here at St. Elizabeth Seton: you gave $21,040 for St. Vincent de Paul; you gave $36,196 for the Bishop’s Services Appeal collection for the Diocese of Lafayette; you gave $6,323 for the Retirement Fund for the Religious Collection in December 2015; you gave $3,729 for the Seminarians Collection on Holy Thursday and you gave a total of $5,852 for several special collections during the past year. The total you so generously gave that was sent to others outside the Church Parish was $73,140. As your Pastor, I compliment you for being willing to share of your financial resources to help others who are in need.

In addition, we as a Church Community and Family send every month funds to different groups and individuals to assist them in their ministry. Every month we send $500 to Father Charles Thibodeaux, S.J., to help with his Mission in Paraguay, South America; we send $500 to St. Joseph Diner to help feed the hungry; we send $500 to Father Glen Meaux for his Missions in Haiti; we send $500 to the Lafayette Community Clinic to help the working poor who have no insurance; we send $500 to Father Michael Champagne to help the Community of Jesus Crucified; and we send $250 to Family Promise to help families in need. Every month when I sign these checks, I try to thank all of you for your generosity so that in the name of Jesus, we can share our finances with others who are needy for food, health care and for the Gospel of the Lord to be preached to them. The words of the Savior are so important: “What you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me.” (Matthew 25:40) St. Paul’s words challenge us: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts of the Apostles 20:35)

As of June 30, 2016, all our bills and obligations were current. The only money we owe is to the Diocese of Lafayette for the many months of repairs, updating and painting. The cost of the project was $1,150,000. We owe the Diocese
$237,000. Hopefully within this current fiscal year we can repay the Diocese. My appreciation, my thanks and my commendation to all of you for your steady, faithful and loyal financial support of the Church and its many ministries, charities and activities. May the Lord touch each one of our hearts to share our time, our talent and our treasure with the Church. May the Stewardship Prayer we say every month after the Prayers of the Faithful at Mass continue to help us to be good sharers of the blessings that the Lord has so abundantly provided for us.

My prayers, best wishes, gratitude and love to you and to your loved ones, for who you are, for all you do for the Lord and for the good of St. Elizabeth Seton Church Parish. May the words of Psalm 138 guide and mold our hearts as we pray: “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart. I will worship at your holy temple and give thanks to your name.”

SHALOM! Fr. Gary

Homework for the week of July 24 - July 30
Luke 11:9-13