Bishop encourages generosity to Catholic Charities

Posted December 19, 2002

Dear Friends in Christ,

In the Diocese of Sioux City it has been a 50-year-old custom to take up a second collection on Christmas Day for the work of Catholic Charities. The gift giving to family, friends and associates is thus extended to include a great work of outreach in our local church, a work that goes on throughout the year, Catholic Charities!

This year, I asked the director of Catholic Charities, Jerry Eaton, to send me some reflections that I could include in my letter to all the faithful. He sent me back a few simple points. The first one was short, bold and profound: when Christ uttered his new commandment, "Love one another," he created the mission of Catholic Charities. One cannot be more direct in describing the work of this agency. It takes seriously the meaning of God's love as declared by Christ. It takes particularly seriously the love of God towards those we tend to either overlook or "look down upon."

In the competitive and sometimes aggressive environment in which we live in the United States, our secular lives can be over-filled with self and with immediate preoccupations.

Jesus' commandment, as embodied in the work of Catholic Charities, pushes us beyond short-sighted goals and ways of living and stretches us to include in our interests and vision of life the distressed, the needy, and the broken. Thus, the way we interact with others of our community who are not "successful" or seem to be not as blessed as we are will be a most precise indicator of how much we understand the meaning of Christmas as God's gift to us.

God shares his Son with us. In receiving such grace, we share our lives with others. That sharing involves our stewardship.

Your generous support of this collection is a sign of enrichment in your self-giving. Quiet work can often be overlooked. I hope you will not overlook the quiet work of Catholic Charities. In these anxious times of uncertainty we need to stretch out more towards others and not be paralyzed by our own self-concerns.

I thank you for your past support of Catholic Charities and for being part of their noble work. I want to encourage you again this year to be generous to this second Christmas Collection.

With every best wish, I remain

Sincerely yours in Christ,
†Most Rev. Daniel N. DiNardo
Bishop of the Diocese of Sioux City