By Deacon Keith Cabiles
Special to the Herald
For many of us, our experience of church is rooted in our parish and the life we share there.
We’re certainly comfortable at our place of worship — the familiar faces we recognize each week, the ministries we serve, fellowship we enjoy, liturgies where we praise and honor God, and the spiritual flourishing we experience. Yet our faith teaches us that we belong to something bigger.
Our parish is not merely a part of the body of Christ; it is the Catholic Church itself, fully present in a particular place. And so, what and how we live our faith locally is always connected to the church in the world.
When we’re asked to open our hearts — and our wallets — to causes that aren’t near or familiar, this wider vision can be difficult. Our hearts respond most naturally to what is close and visible.
Of course, it’s not that we don’t care about needs beyond our own parish; but the needs of the wider church often fade into the background when they seem so distant.
Second collections, whether diocesan or national, are meant to invite us in close. They give us the blessed opportunity to show our charity to those we wouldn’t encounter on our own. It’s a simple and faithful way for all of us to carry the Gospel we hear at our parish into places we’d never visit, and to people we’d never meet face to face.
“When I give to a national collection, I’m reminded that caring for what’s been entrusted to me includes people beyond the walls of my own parish,” shared Mary Cachuela of St. Joseph Church in Waipahu. “The church is bigger than my comfort zone, and giving helps me remember that.”
At its heart, this kind of giving is about who we choose to be as disciples when the opportunity to give presents itself.
Amelia Casamina Cabatu of St. Philomena Church in Honolulu reflected: “Everything in life we have has been given by God, and it’s always a blessing when we can give from the heart. Whether it’s 10 miles away or 1000 miles away, the need is there and we try to give whatever we can.”
Our generosity joins the church’s ongoing work of caring for others, meeting real needs, supporting real ministries and touching real lives. The next time a diocesan or national second collection is announced, please take a moment to prayerfully consider how you might be invited into this shared work of charity.
Deacon Keith Cabiles is chancellor of the Diocese of Honolulu; his office compiles and publishes the bishop-approved annual Second Collections List.
Above: Second collections allow parishioners to help people they normally would not encounter. An usher took up a collection during Mass last April at St. Rose of Lima Church in the Kensington section of Brooklyn, New York. (Gregory A. Shemitz / OSV News)