Posted by Fr. Bill on September 23, 2018

Every dollar received in the CMA is used directly or indirectly to fund ministries affecting every Catholic and faith community in our diocese. Your generous gift to the CMA helps fund:

• Fund ministries that nurture children and teenagers in the Catholic faith and teaches values they'll carry into adulthood.
• Help pay for the proper education of our seminarians on the road to priestly ordination
• Ensure we can help struggling families find their way through economic crisis and back to stability
• Prepare engaged couples for God-centered marriages rooted in the Catholic Church
• Educate and prepare those who wish to become Catholic for the fullness of life in the Church through RCIA
• Enable us to promote Catholic values about the sanctity of all life and make our voice heard in society
• Fund programs that give young adults on college campuses a connection to the Church.
• Provide important services to your parish that it would find difficult to afford on its own
• Support ministries that reach out with the hands and heart of Christ to the aged, the sick, and the imprisoned

Help fund the crucial work of Catholic Charities, which serves more than 250,000 people annually

Letters were sent out this past week from Bishop Matano asking for our support of this year’s Catholic Ministries Appeal (CMA). When you receive the mailing from Bishop Matano, it will include a brochure, letter, pledge card and return envelope. Please read the material carefully and give prayerful consideration to your participation. If you are a newly registered parishioner or if you didn’t receive a mailing, extra copies of the brochure and pledge forms will be available in the church vestibules.

I have made my personal gift this year to help Good Shepherd Catholic Community reach our parish goal.  I sincerely hope that you will as well. The CMA goal this year is $6.725 million, an increase of 2.67% above last year’s goal. The sacrificial gifts of Catholics like you and me throughout the Diocese helps to support ministries and programs like the ones mentioned above. I ask that you will prayerfully consider the Bishop’s request.

How much should I give?

That is a personal decision you must make. Each of us is called to reflect the compassion and generosity of Jesus, who gave his very life for us. We are called to be good stewards of all the many blessings God has bestowed on us as we follow him in true    discipleship. It means God asks us to use our blessings well, to help others, to share our bounty so that our wealth, however large or small, does good for God and returns to God with increase.

Your gift to the CMA can be made directly by filling out your pledge card and using the return envelope you will receive in the mail. Your pledge does not need to be paid all at once. You can make a pledge and make payments on your pledge through May of 2019. 

You can also give on-line at www.dor.org, click on Giving, then click on Contribute to the Catholic Ministry Appeal.  You will be asked to give your ID #; it can be found on the pledge card you receive in the mail.  You will also be asked your parish name, click on Good Shepherd Catholic Community, Aurora (337) on the drop down.  Once again I thank you for your faithfulness and generosity.

God’s blessings and peace, Fr. Bill