Catholic Teens 6-13-06
Hey All--
An amazing thing happened to me last week. I bought a new front door from Menards and was about to stick it into the trunk of my car. A gentleman saw me and asked where I was going with it. When I told him where I lived, he offered to put the door in his pick-up truck and drive it over. Once I got over my lack of trust (I grew up in Milwaukee you know!) I agreed. When I offered him something for his trouble, he refused, simply saying he hopes when he needs a hand, somebody will do it for him.
I’m still kind of amazed about it. My house certainly wasn’t even on his way home. It reminds me of Jesus’ saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And just imagine what the world would be like if everyone did that!
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Question O' The Week:
“Why are we obligated to give to the church?”
-Good question. Who is the source of all of your blessings? God, right? Would you have anything if it wasn’t for God? (No, because it is because of Him that we have our talents, abilities, and even our life). So, in reality, everything we have belongs to Him.
-Now, how do we give back to God, for all He’s given to us? Ever tried mailing a check to Heaven? (It doesn’t work very well J ). Besides, God doesn’t need money in Heaven. But He does ask us to use it on Earth to help others. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told by God to give 10% of their income to God, as a “tithe.” They did this by giving it to the Temple. This allowed the priests to be supported, the Temple supported, and the poor taken care of.
With the New Testament, we see people making offerings to the Apostles to be used in a similar way.
And today, by making our offerings to the Church, we allow the Church to run, the priests and leaders to be supported, the poor to be helped, and even such things as Catholic Charities to help others, our seminarians to be able to attend Seminary, etc.
Unfortunately, most Catholics give next to nothing. I think the average is less then 1%. That’s a long way from what God told the Israelites in the Old Testament! A great concrete example I heard, “if everyone gave to the Church the same amount they give to the cable company each month…..the church would not be in debt, and instead would be on firm financial ground.” Think about that…most people give the cable company more then they give to God. That says a lot about our priorities.
Now what about young people? I always tell the little kids, if you get an allowance of $1 a week, give 10 cents to God. Similarly, you’re in high school and have $10 a week spending money, give $1 to God. It’s not the amount that’s important, it’s the heart and that you’re making the effort.
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Intentions:
-For all our priests as they are in LaCrosse for a time of reflection and relaxation with Bishop Listecki.
-For all people who are suffering in any way, that they may find peace and comfort.
-For peace in the world, especially in Iraq and the Holy Land.
-For all these and any other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord....
Lord, hear our prayer.
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Announcements:
-Vacation Bible School is July 24th-28th 845am-Noon each day. We’re looking for volunteers to help out! Interested? Send me an email!
-Looking for something fun to do on Monday nights? Our parish softball team, including yours truly, and the infamous Natalie Timm, plays at 830pm at Zenoff Park Field 2. The team is the St. Peter's Keys. We lost a tough one last night, 7-6 to Graffiti’s. They’re undefeated, and are the only team we’ve lost too.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.
An amazing thing happened to me last week. I bought a new front door from Menards and was about to stick it into the trunk of my car. A gentleman saw me and asked where I was going with it. When I told him where I lived, he offered to put the door in his pick-up truck and drive it over. Once I got over my lack of trust (I grew up in Milwaukee you know!) I agreed. When I offered him something for his trouble, he refused, simply saying he hopes when he needs a hand, somebody will do it for him.
I’m still kind of amazed about it. My house certainly wasn’t even on his way home. It reminds me of Jesus’ saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And just imagine what the world would be like if everyone did that!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
“Why are we obligated to give to the church?”
-Good question. Who is the source of all of your blessings? God, right? Would you have anything if it wasn’t for God? (No, because it is because of Him that we have our talents, abilities, and even our life). So, in reality, everything we have belongs to Him.
-Now, how do we give back to God, for all He’s given to us? Ever tried mailing a check to Heaven? (It doesn’t work very well J ). Besides, God doesn’t need money in Heaven. But He does ask us to use it on Earth to help others. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told by God to give 10% of their income to God, as a “tithe.” They did this by giving it to the Temple. This allowed the priests to be supported, the Temple supported, and the poor taken care of.
With the New Testament, we see people making offerings to the Apostles to be used in a similar way.
And today, by making our offerings to the Church, we allow the Church to run, the priests and leaders to be supported, the poor to be helped, and even such things as Catholic Charities to help others, our seminarians to be able to attend Seminary, etc.
Unfortunately, most Catholics give next to nothing. I think the average is less then 1%. That’s a long way from what God told the Israelites in the Old Testament! A great concrete example I heard, “if everyone gave to the Church the same amount they give to the cable company each month…..the church would not be in debt, and instead would be on firm financial ground.” Think about that…most people give the cable company more then they give to God. That says a lot about our priorities.
Now what about young people? I always tell the little kids, if you get an allowance of $1 a week, give 10 cents to God. Similarly, you’re in high school and have $10 a week spending money, give $1 to God. It’s not the amount that’s important, it’s the heart and that you’re making the effort.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intentions:
-For all our priests as they are in LaCrosse for a time of reflection and relaxation with Bishop Listecki.
-For all people who are suffering in any way, that they may find peace and comfort.
-For peace in the world, especially in Iraq and the Holy Land.
-For all these and any other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord....
Lord, hear our prayer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements:
-Vacation Bible School is July 24th-28th 845am-Noon each day. We’re looking for volunteers to help out! Interested? Send me an email!
-Looking for something fun to do on Monday nights? Our parish softball team, including yours truly, and the infamous Natalie Timm, plays at 830pm at Zenoff Park Field 2. The team is the St. Peter's Keys. We lost a tough one last night, 7-6 to Graffiti’s. They’re undefeated, and are the only team we’ve lost too.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.
posted by Phil Lawson at 11:43 AM
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