Giving at Corpus Christi

Praying

Increasing my daily effort: commit to 10 or 15 minutes every day and gradually increase it each week

Weekly Adoration: determine an hour a week and then commit to it

Praying a rosary or other chaplet at the same time every day or week

Praying with family, friends, or loved ones for encouragement and to seek God’s will in our lives

Serving

Liturgical ministries include serving during the Mass, with the Altar Guild or Art & Environment

Prayer ministries include Adoration or prayer groups

Service ministries include serving others in the parish or greater community

Fellowship ministries include men’s or women’s groups, bible studies, and Knights of Columbus

Giving

Am I giving to my parish? Sharing my blessings from God, supporting our parish, and starting somewhere.

Am I giving from the top? Being obedient as God asks me to, prayerfully planning ahead, and making it first.

Am I giving sacrificially? Giving up some of my wants to provide for the needs of others.

2022 Bulletin Articles

The Offertory

For as long as most of us can remember, we have “passed the basket” at the Offertory during Mass. Some of us plan ahead, have cash or write out a check – like paying a bill – and put it in the correct Sunday envelope to bring to Mass. Some of us forget to do it ahead of time and half-way through the homily, realize that and scramble to write a check or see how much cash we have. We might have our envelope but quite often don’t.

The Offertory is the part of the Mass when the gifts of bread and wine are typically brought forward by a few parishioners. They represent everyone at Mass – bringing forward our ourselves – our gift – to the altar. This was also the time that the ushers would come forward and start the baskets. For those few moments, we would be distracted. Where’s my envelope? Oh, I forgot, do I have cash? OK, which child gets to put the envelope in the basket? Which way is the basket coming? Do I have to get up and get it from the person at the other end of the next pew? By the time it was done, so was the offering of the gifts of bread and wine! We missed the opportunity to offer ourselves and our lives.

These days, especially in the wake of the pandemic, many of us have switched to online giving. This makes recurring gifts simple, and you never miss a week – or month – even if you’re out of town. Online giving also makes it easy for the parish to project monthly income and budget accordingly. Last year, when we were able to return to Mass in person, we opted to provide a few boxes in the vestibule for donations. This alleviated our concerns about everyone touching the basket as it was passed around.

Since you continue to be generous in your weekly giving, we decided to order more secure – and visually appealing – donation boxes. Two wooden boxes are going to be installed near the entrances to the church, where the white boxes have been. This makes it easy for you to drop your donation before Mass or after Mass. It’s more secure, since they are locked and emptied by two ushers who transfer the donations to the safe in the sacristy.

Most importantly, we are all free to experience the Offertory as it is meant to be. We can focus on offering our hearts and minds, ourselves and our lives, together with the gifts of bread and wine. Then, even as the bread and wine are transformed into the Body & Blood of Jesus – we also will be transformed into the Body of Christ – Becoming Disciples.