Morgan Daniels
Trinity Catholic High School
19199 Old Jamestown Road
Florissant, Missouri 63034
(314)369-9962
St. Norbert
It is important for me and all the Catholics of the Archdiocese of St. Louis to come together to participate in the Annual Catholic Appeal. In my life, the Annual Catholic Appeal did not become a strong factor until a true understanding of what it was had been presented. This is a wonderful benefactor in both present lifestyle but it will also be a strong standpoint that will help in future generations of Catholics. The ACA helps Catholic Charities of St. Louis impact a large number of not just Catholics but all of God’s children. Scripture tells us in 1 John 3;2 “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will have not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” In this passage, a strong form of both gratitude and service is taken from the words. The gratitude is apparent in the way we are claimed by Christ, in this we are thankful to Him. For we know not what will be made but in Christ, we shall do his work. The Annual Catholic Appeal shows a strong tie to doing the work of Christ. Through the Appeal, many Catholic Charities are helped to perform and get a very fulfilling outcome. Leading to the purpose of all Catholics to be called to participate.
The Annual Catholic Appeal is important for my family and me to participate in because solely of the fact it is God’s work. Very often in the everyday rush people tend to not realize what God has sent for his children. The annual Catholic Appeal has helped many Service projects happen but also many Catholic Charities have been able to thrive from the Annual Catholic Appeal. Each family is called to participate in this offering of God's love and guidance. For my family, there is a very large opportunity of not only volunteering but donating to and with the Catholic Church. The act of instituting not only to live through the words of Christ but to work through His holy actions and pray to God throughout any situation. Catholics of all ages can become involved and able to perceive the underlying truth that God reveals to us through the Annual Catholic Appeal.
The Appeal is not only relevant to Adults but also to the younger generations of the Catholic faith. It is important to become involved now while my peers are starting to manifest a voice. The future of not only our way of interpreting the faith but also the eternity of the ACA is developed when young people are interested and become involved into the Church. It is essential for those to be invited and welcomed into the Church, therefore we are not a community but a deeply rooted family driven by our faith. My peers should become involved in the church because of the substantial values that are given to those who not only do the work of God but also to those who receive and spread both the work and teachings instituted by Christ.
The ACA benefits my parish by the constant support that we receive from the service. The appeal shows that without not only the support but the belief and support of God we would have nothing. It is important for my parish to participate because solely of the purpose that as Catholics we are all rooted through Jesus Christ in His excellence. As a parish community, we are called to serve each other through service. The ACA helps to fundraise, nurture, and support for many Charities.
It is important for all Catholics to participate in the ACA because we are God's family. This Annual Catholic Appeal acts out the Word of God by acting as He wanted us to act towards one another. In Matthew 20;15-16 it is stated "Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous? So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” This quote has been chosen because although some people may have judgemental attributes the outcome and reasoning for your donation is positive in God's eyes. This quote also shows that we are equal, as followers God loves all people the same. As many of my Catholic brothers and sisters have done the work of Christ I would like to not only continue the tradition but also to spread it throughout borders.
Stewardship is defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as being the act of conducting, supervising, or managing of something. In 1 Corinthians 3:9 the apostle Paul explains it by saying “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” With this concept of God’s view we are able to understand not only what we have but our life itself in the beauty and likeness of Jesus Christ. Biblical stewardship is not God taking from us, yet it is Him applying His richest gifts upon the people He loves the most. I have noticed many stewardship opportunities including a chance that I had encountered this summer. Over this summer, with my youth group, I went on a weeklong mission trip down to Perryville, Missouri. On this trip, we spread the service and words of God. This was a week of community, faith, and also hard work.
The meaning of stewardship to me is best described in Colossians 3;23-24. “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lod. You serve the Lord Christ.” This quote, to me, points out the main fact that everything done through God should be done to the best of all ability. All actions that we do towards one another should be positive and in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. In another excerpt from the Bible “Honor the Lord with your obsessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest.” , this quote is taken from Proverbs 3:9. The theme of this reading is best described as the responsibility of giving everything that God has sent to us back to Jesus Christ. When all you do is in the likelihood of God there is no wrong action.
Through my family, my parents raised us to practice stewardship. For all of my siblings and I, it was a very normal teaching, my mom was very adamant about spreading God's teaching. My dad was a Lutheran at the time but supported my mom throughout her teaching. Through volunteering at the church and helping out I developed a very strong love for stewardship. Throughout my life, I have enjoyed doing many volunteer projects with my mom. Including somewhere, we would spend days at a time helping the community. I thank my mom every day for implementing a very strong structure of stewardship in my faith. Every day there are more and more service opportunities to be completed.
The way I practice stewardship in my everyday life is opening up to opportunities to help my brothers and sisters in Christ. Personally, I enjoy doing service projects to helping those less fortunate than I. Throughout my life I have been involved in multiple organizations and services. Last summer I dedicated a week of my life to help rebuild, sustain, and regenerate the community of Perryville. This certain project was very eye-opening and caused me to truly realize how lucky I am. I noticed that even though life may feel negative I still have both my faith and my family. The most moving part of my week-long trip had to be when we arrived back in St. Louis and went to the Kenrick Glennon Seminary. There, we had set up assembly lines to make meal bags for those in third world countries. In just under one hour the youth of St. Louis I was with made over 20,000 meal bags to be sent out. This was a very beautiful occurrence in my life.
I am able to notice stewardship in my surroundings by seeing the work of God becoming unfolded among my eyes. Through school, I see simple acts of kindness and respect between peers, teachers, and guests. At my church, there’s are many examples of God's work, but my favorite would most likely be the presence of this two older ladies. Jo and Dottie, have helped me through rough times in my life and these two, feisty but sweet women, are truly gifts sent by Jesus Christ himself. I notice stewardship at home, school, work, and in my church by standing back and seeing how much God has truly done for us, as his children.
When I had gone on my Perryville trip I had a bit of a closed mind to it all. I was focused on getting my service hours and that only. For the past year, my faith had been tested. In January of 2017, my mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Later in that year around June is when my dad had been laid off from work. Now I was constantly thinking to myself “If my God really loves me why is He putting this strain upon my family?” I soon realized through my mom that God always has a plan. She would tell me how the hard times are those which truly test your faith, and I agreed with her. My mom, even when she had been going through her treatments which tore down her body, made sure that I stayed involved in my faith. She and my dad pushed me to follow through with going on this trip. They would say once I truly experience the meaning of love and faith I would understand God's way at a new level. So I cleared all my thoughts on the trip and went in with an open mind and heart. I am glad I had Jesus at my side, especially while I was entering a new area with people I didn’t know. To this day, I thank not only God but also my parents for opening my mind and heart to perform the true acts of stewardship.
The ACA is an organization which helps families, charities and many other communities of the St. Louis area every year. By using the money donated from the citizens of St. Louis to the Annual Catholic Appeal funding is brought to service organizations, homeless shelters, and to help other Catholic families in shelters. A couple of years ago, the ACA was able to raise over 13 million dollars. This amount was raised just from donations collected throughout the year. I am thankful to have such a generous and Christ filled organization in my life.
The ACA affects my parish solely upon the facts that without it my parish would not truly be sustainable. As Catholics, it is our mission to donate and help our brothers and sisters. We hold multiple donations throughout the month and we also send out the St. Vincent de Paul bags to further our Christian value of the donation. My parish has had the benefit to be helped by the Annual Catholic Appeal in many ways. Through donation multiple families have been helped, charities and drives have been sponsored, and many service projects have been run.
The ACA affects my peers and me in a various amount of ways. We are the future of the Catholic faith and Organization. The Annual Catholic Appeal benefits us because we have a role model to look at when we may feel like the world is hopeless. The ACA is a very effective organization in today's society. It has had an impact on multiple young adults. The ACA had funded my Perryville mission trip that helped their city. Thank you to the Annual Catholic Appeal for being there in all aspects of my life.
My community has been impacted by the ACA because abundances of families have been helped. This can include funding for house rebuilding after a natural disaster and many more. It also helps families by giving scholarships to young students while they are enrolled in a private school. Priests are also helped by being given money to those who dedicate their lives to serving us. For young couples, a marriage prep class is offered to help the couples stay true to God. Through the ACA we are shown to live a life full of charity, love, peace, respect, and most importantly faith. The Annual Catholic Appeal is a service to Catholics that helps all in need regardless of social borders. From helping parishes stay open that may be struggling to service a homeless person, the ACA is doing a lot for our busy communities. It is important for all of my Catholic brothers and sisters to invest their time into serving the mission of the ACA because it truly captures how it is to act out the works of the Lord.
