Testimonials
Throughout my life I have worked to strengthen our Church community by sharing the gifts that God has blessed me with, and by sharing His message of Love. Leaving a gift to my Parish in my will, is yet another way for me to demonstrate my devotion to Him, by helping to ensure that future generations will experience faith-filled lives.
– Ann S. Messina
Leaving a Legacy of Faith
Recently at my Parish they held a Legacy Sunday, and I would like to share some ideas about just what Legacy Sunday means for us.
During the Christmas season, I make a traditional Sicilian fig-filled cookie turnover. It is a recipe that I inherited from my mother, she from my grandmother and down the line for multiple generations. Making the fig cookies is an arduous and time-consuming task, but for me it is a labor of love.
A few weeks ago one of my granddaughters called me and asked that she and I get-together to make fig cookies. What she didn’t say is that she wished to learn, so that this Christmas tradition will remain once I am no longer here to make them. Yes, I like to think of the fig cookies as a small part of my legacy to my family.
What actually is a legacy. Simply put, it is a handing down of traditions, of values, of morals, of beliefs, of material possessions and sometimes even financial assets from one generation to the next.
You and I have received the most precious of legacies, that of our Catholic religion. You and I have dedicated ourselves to living that faith and we have been committed to passing those same beliefs, morals, values and traditions to our children and grandchildren. We have instilled in them a love of Jesus and of His Church.
We come to this very church with them to pray and to worship God. Here we are ministered to by our wonderful priests who celebrate mass for us, give us the sacraments and share with us our times of joy and our times of sorrow. What a beautiful spiritual legacy!
There is, however, a practical aspect to this legacy and that is the financial aspect. In order for our parish to survive in these challenging times, in order for it to thrive and to fulfill its mission and commitment to our Lord, it needs a solid financial foundation.
By creating a legacy for our parish, we will ensure that it will persevere when we are no longer here to support it. How do we do that- by leaving a monetary bequest in our wills, by naming it in our IRAs, by leaving it amounts through insurance policies, banks accounts etc.
I am not here to instruct you in the logistics of how to accomplish this. I am here to ask you to join me in creating a financial legacy for your parish so that future generations will continue to benefit from all that you and I now enjoy here. Please reflect and pray on this and determine how you can participate in establishing this much-needed legacy.
Thank you for your attention and may God bless you and your families.
-Frances
