St. Gertrude Catholic Parish

This week, you are asked to read and reflect upon the Annual Catholic Appeal brochure that you received with your bulletin today. The theme of the campaign is: “Your reward shall be great in Heaven” (Luke 6:23).

This theme comes from the Sermon on the Mount. Christ is not saying, “If you give money, your reward shall be great in Heaven”. That would be too easy. He is saying that through our actions and interactions with others, each of us has an obligation to leave the world a better place than it was when we arrived. A significant gift to th Annual Catholic Appeal enables each of us to touch the lives of many others in a very positive way.

The annual Catholic Appeal provides a significant portion of the budget of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Most dioceses in the country conduct an appeal, once a year, to help with the costs of providing services and programs to their parishes and people. Chicago is no exception.

The Annual Catholic Appeal campaign is much different than a one time special collection. It is a pledge campaign where you can make a gift, payable over five months. Sometimes it is difficult to envision how one pledge can help an organization the size of our Archdiocese, how it can make a real difference. But, it does, because all parishes participate in the campaign and the gifts of many will enable our Archdiocese to deliver needed ministry and services.

If you received your pledge form in the mail, please complete it and mail it back or bring it to Mass next weekend. For those of you that did not receive a mailing, we will conduct our in-pew pledge process at all Masses next weekend and the following weekend.

As always, what you give should be given in gratitude for what God has given to you. Thank you for your prayerful consideration and generous response.