Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
June 28, 20115
Spiritual Ponderings
Spirituality of Fundraising

My first pastor had one talk that he would give each year on finances. It was the same talk every year and the Sunday that he gave the talk because known as “Apple Sunday” because his talk always involved peaches (Only kidding his talk always involved apples).

He would go on to tell the following story: “Once upon a time . . . there was a man who had nothing . . . and God gave him ten apples. He gave him three apples to eat. He gave him three apples to trade for shelter from the sun and rain. He gave him three apples to trade for clothing to wear. He gave him one apple so that he might have something to give back to God to show his gratitude for the other nine.

The man ate the three apples. He traded three for shelter from sun and rain. He traded three for clothing to wear. The man looked at the tenth apple . . . and it seemed bigger and juicier than the rest. So the man ate the tenth apple . . . and gave back to God . . . THE CORE!”

The point of the story is twofold. The first is that it reminds us that all we have is from God and secondly not to give God something back would be a sign of great disrespect.

I remember a few years ago, when my little nephew was about 2 years old, we were sitting down at Wendy’s and I had already gotten my food because I had arrived early. So my nephew is sitting in his high chair looking at me as his parents go up to order their food and he begins grunting and sticking out his hand toward me. It was obvious that he wanted one of my French fries and so I gave him one. A few moments later he started grunting again and so I gave him another French fry. Eventually his parents returned with their food and they put a few French fries on his plate. To my surprise he began to grunt again and when I turned to look at him, he was holding out his hand and in his hand was a French fry that he wanted to share with me. He was giving back and I was a very proud uncle because I realized that his willingness to share was a sign of unselfishness which marked the sign of great maturity. If only we could all be that selfless.

Fr. Nouwen in his book The Spirituality of Fundraising (quotes will be in bold) spends a good portion of his book asking why is it hard for us to ask others for money for good causes? Could it be because we do not have a good relationship with money?

Those of us who ask for money need to look carefully at ourselves. The question is not how to get money. Rather, the question is about our relationship with money. We will never be able to ask for money if we do not know how we ourselves relate to money.

If we remember back to our first reflection on this topic we know that money does mean so much to us because it signifies our dreams and our hopes. I believe also that we can begin to think that we protect our dreams and hopes because they are an intimate part of us and it often feels that when people reject them they are rejecting us. This is not always the case, for while I may never understand a person’s dreams like the desire to go sky diving, it does not mean that I can build a relationship with them on other common interests.

Money is central reality of family relationships. It is also a central reality in our relationships with people, institutions, and causes beyond family life. Therefore we need also to think about this side of our financial life. If money touches our relationships with family members as well as the world beyond our home, it also reaches into our inner life. It is interesting that the phrase “personal worth” can mean both the extent of our financial assets and our value as a human being.

The only place as a Catholic to receive our identity from is from God. We are all children of God no matter how much money we make. One of the great things about the Mass is that all are welcome and there are no places for social distinctions.

Money and power go together. There is also a real relationship between power and a sense of self-worth. Do we ever use money to control people or events? In other words, do we use our money to make things happen the way we want them to happen? Do we ever use money simply to give others freedom to do what they want to do? How do we feel when people ask us for money?

The above are all powerful questions that Fr. Nouwen asks and to be completely honest, I wrestle with them a lot. Having money and being secure allows me to be a sort of judge to where am I going to spend it and to what charities that I am going to give some of my money to. I know that I cannot do all the good that is presented before me but am I least doing some.

The pressure in our culture to secure our own future and to control our lives as much as possible does not find support in the Bible. Jesus knows our need for security. He is concerned that because security is such a deep human nee, we do not place our trust in things or people that cannot offer us real security. “Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moth and woodworm destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworm destroys them and thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be too” (Matt. 6:19-21). – 14&15