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The Annual Bishop's Appeal relies on your continued prayers and financial support
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February 26, 2021
At the beginning of each year, we embark on launching our Annual Bishop’s Appeal (ABA). The faithful of our diocese are invited to first and foremost join me in prayer for the ministries that financial gifts to the ABA support. In addition to prayer, we seek a sacrificial financial gift to support these ministries that serve our people every day. As a diocese, we rely on the prayers and financial support of our people.
Understanding how your prayers and gifts offered in the ABA impact so many of our people is important to us. I want to share the areas of ministry that your prayers and financial gifts to the ABA support.
Seminarian Education - The formation of our seminarians is incredibly important to me because I want priests who are joy-filled, holy, educated, and who are able to meet the spiritual and pastoral needs of our people. Formation in the seminary is the foundation of acquiring these qualities as a priest. Something is only as strong as the foundation it is built upon, which is why seminary formation is so important to me and to our diocese. It ensures we are forming a strong foundation in the mind and the heart of a man who will be holy, joyful and pastoral as a priest.
We hope that the ABA first and foremost reminds our people to pray that more men and women will hear God’s call to priesthood and consecrated life to serve the Lord and the church. The ABA also provides the financial assistance needed for us with funds necessary to educate our seminarians. It costs the diocese each year on average $45,000 per seminarian for their education and formation in the seminary, and this can be for anywhere from four to eight years. Thank you for your dedication to our future priests.
Care for our Retired Priests - Even though a priest may have retired from active ministry, in most instances he still very much continues to serve in ministry. The ABA helps us to meet our obligations as a diocese to our retired priests, including their retirement income and any responsibility we may have for their healthcare and health insurance. I have a great love for our retired priests. They have served extraordinarily well and have given a lifetime in ministry. Thank you for your continued prayers and financial support for our retired diocesan priests.
Youth Faith Formation - Another focus of our ABA is our youth faith formation through the Office of Parish Support and the Catholic Schools Office. The Office of Parish Support oversees youth faith formation in our Parish Schools of Religion and the young people who are formed in faith in these programs. The Office of Catholic Schools has oversight of youth faith formation in all 11 of our Catholic schools. Our Catholic schools serve over 5,000 students, and provide youth faith formation in the classroom helping our children grow academically and spiritually.
Faith formation, particularly of our young people, is very important to me as we help provide a strong foundation of their faith for many years to come. Thank you for helping to ensure our youth have the proper faith formation across our diocese.
I invite you to visit our website to learn more about how your prayers and gifts have an impact each year. Please know of my great gratitude for the prayers and generosity of our people to the ABA. Financial gifts to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal can be made online at www.htdiocese.org/bishopsappeal. I encourage you to submit your prayer requests as well to [email protected].
More information will be given in the future regarding a special Mass I will celebrate in gratitude for our prayerful and generous parishioners, as well as lifting up to God all prayer requests received. For more information about the appeal, please call (985) 850-3116 or email [email protected]. Many thanks for your prayers and financial gifts!
We continue in the season of Lent, and I invite you to remain faithful to the spiritual discipline that you have embraced. The joy of Easter awaits those who fully embrace the call to prayer, fasting and almsgiving that Lent challenges us to undertake. Blessings and peace to you and we continue in the Lenten season!
