SUPPORT FOR OUR PARISH

We are grateful for all you can do.  
We hope you will do your best.

HOW TO SUPPORT OUR PARISH

Like all parishes, we take up a collection during the Offertory at each weekend and Holy Day Mass.  These offerings are brought to the altar to be blessed, since they represent our offering to God.
More and more people prefer to make their offering through other means.  They recognize that they cannot always be in one of our churches, but they want their support to be continuous.  they also don't want to worry about whether they have a check or cash enough to make the gift they feel is right.

WeShare Online offers a convenient way to make your offering, not only for the parish but also for second collections that benefit ministries in Maine, the nation, and the world.  You control the timing, the amount, and the method of payment.  Plus, you have proof of payment when tax time comes around.   It's safe and secure.
To set up your support for the parish offertory, click here.  On the page that appears, find this window and follow the prompts.

Once you made your first donation, you will receive log-in credentials for future visits.
One of those future visits may be to contribute to second collections.  There are several steps in this process -- nothing complicated, though. For directions on how to do this, click here.

WHY SUPPORT OUR PARISH

While our mission as Church is spiritual, that is, helping people love God and neighbor, our parish requires material resources to carry out that mission.  We rely on the commitment of parishioners to supply those resources.

This is nothing new.  Poor as He was, Jesus and his disciples had to eat, buy new sandals occasionally, and make their own contributions to the poor when they visited a synagogue or the Temple.  The Gospels tell us that women of means among his disciples provided those resources.

Our parish maintains four churches, supports two priests and a deacon, employs a dozen staff engaged in faith formation, financial management, and maintenance.  We have the same bills every household has – electricity, heat, water, etc., etc. – but on a much larger scale.  

So on the material level, we ask everyone to give to these needs.  

Far more important is the fact that each of us has a need to share what God has given us, as the way to show our thanks.  The Scriptures tell us this over and over, in both the Old and the New Testament.  The parable of the Widow's Mite and the story of the Rich Young Man are among the most familiar examples.  Perhaps an even better statement says, "To whom much is given, much is expected."  We have to ask ourselves:  are we meeting God's expectations?

We all have a need to share.  Why?  Because habits of generous sharing free us from preoccupation with our own needs and with the material things we too often cling to in response to feelings of loneliness, fear, and anger.  We need to share what we have (and who we are) with others — in our parish, throughout our community, in our diocese and all over the world — not only because they truly need our help but also because giving is good for our soul. 
                                                                         – Msgr. Michael Corona