Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose,

I just received my Catholic Stewardship information in the mail this past week, and so I am assuming that all of you received this as well.
We have become accustomed to the annual request of our diocese to practice stewardship and to give our tithe to God. Traditionally in our diocese, this has been divided by 5% to the local parish, 4% to the charities of our own choice, and 1% to the diocese. This is all based on the Biblical 10% of our earning being dedicated to God. Of course God actually has no need of our money at all and it all belongs to Him anyway, but the Church is a material entitity and we believe that we give to God by supporting the Church and other charities that are doing God’s work by building the Kingdom through being of assistance to the people whom they serve.
For us as Christians, it is part of who we are, not only to help in time of need, but to support the physical needs of our parish, our diocese, and the Church universal. It is deeply a part of us to give. Our diocese has always supported the idea of stewardship and tithing. That is how we are able to operate our parish school without charging tuition. I believe this is the reason Mary Immaculate School is still operating. If young families had to pay tuition to support our school, it would not be open now. It is by our shared support that we are able to have our school and all our other parish programs.
The diocese is moving toward a more complete stewardship model. In the next few years we will be again asking people to tithe. That means trusting that if we give to God, He will give to us. The idea of this is so we can support our parish and diocese without second collections and special fund raisers. Tithing would mean that we would be more secure in knowing that the people  of our parish will support the physical needs of the Church and provide for all of its ministries.
Each year we ask all of you to consider your tithe and see if it is where it should be. If you haven’t tithed before and are a bit unsure that you can handle the  Biblical 10%, then try what you think would work for you at this time. Let’s say you commit to 2%, see how that goes and then next year review it, pray about it and then add a little more to it until you get where you want to be.
God is so generous in the blessings that He pours out to us. Let us be grateful and thank Him for those blessings. It is the spirit of gratitude that makes us want to give back to God.
It is also a time for us to see how we can share our talents with the Lord. Maybe we will be asked to serve on a committee, to lector or usher at Mass, to provide music for our worship, to provide a hot dish for a funeral dinner, to take Holy Communion to the homebound. The opportunities to give to God are endless. And no matter how much we give, God always gives more to us.
Thank you for your generous support to May Immaculate Parish. May God bless you abundantly!
Msgr. Cox
The Widow’s Mite Zeferino da Costa (1876)