Dear Friends in Christ,
“Everything I have is yours!”  This is how the father of the prodigal son responds to his older son who is indignant at the party thrown for his wayward younger brother.  The older son is resentful because he thinks his father has been stingy with him.  To soften his son’s heart, the father reminds him that he is willing to share everything he has with him!  

Close your eyes and imagine God the Father speaking these words to you—Everything I have is yours!  This is an astounding thing to say!  God does not need to share anything with us, but he chooses to share everything with us, even giving us his Son on the Cross for our salvation.  Why?  Because he loves us!  There is no other explanation.

Every smile we see, every breath we take, and every meal we eat can remind us of the generosity of God.  Furthermore, every time we are forgiven, every Holy Communion we receive, and every increase of charity in our hearts can open our eyes to this central truth of our faith—God shares everything with us, even his divine life.

The older son needed to be humbled by the goodness of his father before he could share in the joy of his brother’s return.  So too, we need to be humbled by the generosity of God before we can generously share the resources he has entrusted to us.

Your generosity toward Saint Frances Cabrini Parish allows us to accomplish our mission by worshipping God, administering the Sacraments, teaching the faith to the next generation, educating the youth in an integral and virtuous way, serving those in need, and carrying out all the corporeal and spiritual works of mercy.  In this way, our parish brings hope, meaning, and direction to those in the world who are despairing, confused, and lost.

Within this brochure, you can read about some of the wonderful things God is accomplishing at Saint Frances Cabrini Parish.  It’s very encouraging to consider the ways the Lord is working here!  

Because of your generosity, during the parish’s last fiscal year (’23-’24) we saw in increase in stewardship.  This reversed several consecutive years of annual decreases.  Thank you for your support!  Given expected increases in costs, we rely upon continuing this trend of increasing financial stewardship.  

In the next couple weeks, please pray about how much you can pledge this year.  Then complete your pledge card and bring it to Mass for our Commitment Weekend (October  19 & 20).  You can also return the pledge card to the parish office using the provided envelope.  

Please note: this an invitation to support our annual parish operations through tithing.  This is not the same as the Love One Another Campaign.  I thank you for continuing to honor your Love One Another Campaign commitments in addition to supporting our regular operations.

Please know of my deep gratitude for your generosity, your prayers, and your support of our parish!

In Christ,

Rev. Jacob A. Strand