_{Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Homilies}

_{Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (c) 2010
 February 07, 2010}

We have just viewed the DVD of Bishop Boland and the official start of the 2010 Bishop's Annual Appeal. The theme this year is "Be Rich in Good Works, Generous and Ready to Share." (1 Timothy 6:18)

I invite you to recognize that the Holy Spirit works in each of us in different ways. Just as our DNA makes us unique and our fingerprints make us unique, so too does our special combination of gifts given by our generous God. No one person has all the gifts. It takes the gifts of us all, to help build God's Kingdom!

We celebrate the fact that, through the gift of the Holy Eucharist, we are nourished and strengthened to be Christ's Disciples in our homes, at school, at work, in our community and in our world. With this renewed awareness of our gifts, and our responsibility to use them in God's service, a specific opportunity is given to us through the Bishop's Annual Appeal to take action!

After taking time for prayer and planning with your family, I am asking you to step out in faith and share your gifts by making a commitment to the 2010 Bishop's Annual Appeal and the Diocese of Savannah. We here at Holy Spirit must recognize and respect that we are a part of the much larger Catholic Church.

We are living in financially uncertain times. Many of our brothers and sisters are living true financial tragedies . . .  jobs and homes lost, not able to provide for themselves or their families. This makes it even more important for us who do have jobs and homes and income to share our resources with people in need through our Bishop's Annual Appeal. We need to prayerfully discern what portion of our own blessings we are willing to give back to the Lord and to His people.

I give 2% of my gross annual income to the BAA each year and I ask that you make that your goal also. The parishioners of Holy Spirit have a history of great generosity. We have exceeded our parish goal for the Bishop's Annual Appeal seven years in a row. For this I am very thankful and very proud. You are truly faithful and generous followers of Christ.

Here at Holy Spirit we have been very blessed in recent years by Bishop Boland and the Diocese of Savannah. First and foremost he has allowed me to remain as your Pastor for the past five years and hopefully for many more to come. The Diocese provided very valuable guidance and support for our recent renovation and addition we completed just over one year ago. Bishop Boland also donated the beautiful cast bronze plaque located near the front door celebrating this fact.

If you have been a regular supporter of the Bishop's Annual Appeal in the past, please continue that generous tradition and even consider increasing your gift this year. If you have never given to the BAA, I beg you to consider joining your parish family in keeping the Catholic community of Middle and South Georgia alive, vibrant, Christ-centered, and responsive to the needs of God's people.

In our scripture readings today we here the Prophet Isaiah proclaim "Here I am, Lord" and Paul proclaim "By the grace of God I am what I am." It is my prayer today that you will "Be Rich in Good Works, Generous and Ready to Share." Every gift, regardless of amount, is important! It is important that every family in this parish participate! You can make a difference!