When students at St. Vitus Parish School recently held a fundraiser for the diocesan mission supporting the poorest of the poor in Chimbote, Peru, they collected $800, which was soon anonymously matched by a parishioner.
“Only because 125 students made small contributions was this brother in Christ able to make a larger gift,” said Father Frank Almade, pastor of the Catholic Community in New Castle. “Our children teach us that every gift matters.”
And so it is with Our Campaign for The Church Alive!, supported by donors representing about 130,000 faithful of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. With so many participants, some might think their gift doesn’t make a difference.
But there’s much more to it.
“When we give, we usually think of the impact our gift will have on others,” Father Almade said. “But we are changed, too. Such generosity draws us closer to Christ, the one who said, ‘It is better to give than to receive.’”
Father David DeWitt, pastor of Risen Lord and Incarnation of the Lord parishes in Pittsburgh, recalls the Gospel story of the poor widow who gave two small coins to the treasury, while many rich people put in large sums.
“She gave from her need, not her excess,” Father DeWitt said. “A number of people may have contributed smaller amounts to the campaign, but together these gifts help make a difference.
“Like the Body of Christ, every part is important,” Father DeWitt said. “If one part of the body is not working or is weak, other parts are affected. But when people contribute smaller gifts they begin to build, and the body becomes stronger.”
At the start of the historic initiative Bishop David Zubik asked not for equal gifts, but equal sacrifice.
“This campaign is an opportunity to reach out with the hands, the heart and the face of Christ,” Bishop Zubik said. “It is an opportunity for us to respond to the trust that Jesus gave to his disciples and all of us who are his disciples now, to prove to the world how much God is alive and how much he wants to reach out to us.”
The U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Stewardship speaks to the role of every Catholic.
“As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord,” the bishops wrote.
“The life of a Christian steward models the life of Jesus,” the letter continued. “It is challenging and even difficult, in many respects, yet intense joy comes to those who take the risk to live as Christian stewards.”
“One of the virtues of Catholic social thought which is rarely mentioned is that of participation,” Father Almade said. “When we participate in some endeavor larger than ourselves—our family, our parish or Our Campaign for The Church Alive!—we share ourselves with others. Participation says that every person matters, and therefore every gift matters.”
Father DeWitt looks to the example of the Blessed Mother.
“Mary is the perfect model—she steps forward in faith and trust, and we’re asked to do the same,” Father DeWitt said. “We need to reach out and help our neighbor. We all have different gifts that we’re called to share.”
