When the time comes to start preparing for Christmas (and we all know that time seems to come earlier and earlier), one thing that many people have to decide is WHO they will give gifts to and then WHAT they will give to the recipients of their love and generosity.  Well in the case of the Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal which starts THIS WEEKEND, thankfully we don't have to decide WHO will be the recipients of our gifts, nor do we have to ponder WHAT we will give to our brothers and sisters who  are in need -- only how much we want to pledge and or give monetarily for this year.  The WHO is a wide range of people from our young people in Catholic Schools whose parents can't pay the full tuition, to our seminarians who are in formation to become our priests of tomorrow, to the poor who are helped through Catholic Charities, to our youth in religious education programs throughout our state, to our college-aged students who need opportunities for faith formation and fellowship, to the countless people who will benefit from renovations to St. John's Center where many overnight retreats and meetings take place, to those who work in our diocesan offices and who provide needed and helpful services to the bishop and all our parishes in Arkansas.  In some ways, the list of recipients is overwhelming and thus they need an overwhelming response which means a generous response from EVERY Catholic or Catholic family is asked to give something.  Even if the goal for the diocese is met (two million dollars) which sadly it never has, some of these ministries actually need more than what has been allotted for them to receive through the Catholic Arkansas Sharing Appeal.  In reality, some of the leaders of these ministries will probably have to figure out how to make it without the necessary dollars to help all those who are in need and who can't fully (or even partly) provide for themselves.

Please use the envelope you were given this weekend before Mass and prayerfully decide what you will give or pledge to give, and send it off in the mail.  I want to thank ALL OF YOU who have helped make our parish one of the leaders in responding to this appeal.  Those who haven't joined us before, I ask you to do so no matter how much you give!