Letters from Bishop Bartosic

Sunday October 20th, 2024

If he gives his life as an offering for sin...the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. (Isaiah 53:10)

For years, the Church's way of speaking about the resources we need in order to bring people to Jesus has clustered around three rubrics: time, talent, and treasure. God's people as a whole has been richly blessed with all three.

This is played out in the liturgy itself: Bread and wine are carried to the sanctuary by the faithful. They are handed over to the priest, and lifted up over the altar. At that moment they symbolize our humanity: our time, our talent, our treasure. These gifts symbolize our entire life. We offer it all to God, in thanksgiving for God's goodness to us.

After the prayer of consecration, they are held up again: Through Him, with Him, and in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, these gifts have actually become the body and blood of Christ. They have been divinized! In the Communion Rite, they will be given back to us, uniting us even more closely to Jesus and to each other, nourishing us for the work we must do.

St. Josaphat parishioners are generous with their time, talent and treasure. Thank you for that generosity. This weekend we share a report on our management of your financial gifts. We want you to feel that your trust in us is well-placed. The Lord is the Savior of the world: through the miracle of his love, (through Him, with Him, in Him), whatever we offer with a cheerful, humble heart, participates in his mission for the salvation of the world.

What do we have to offer? Just Jesus, just ourselves. And that's enough!