Community Welfare Fund:
‘It is more blessed to give than receive. ‘The Church teaches that giving is not a law to be obeyed, but a matter of the heart. Our hearts should be focused on God and not ourselves.
When we hold on to our resources for our own benefit, our focus naturally turns inward – we are saving, protecting, accumulating just for ourselves.
When our focus turns toward God, the importance of “having” diminishes and our desire to give generously grows. Our giving should be without compulsion, freely offered and with a cheerful heart.
Throughout scripture, we are reminded of the importance of giving back a portion of what God has so generously provided. His Word tells us that giving is an act of worship that should be done with a spirit of thanksgiving.
In the Old Testament (before Jesus), God teaches the Israelites to tithe give 10 percent of their income. In the New Testament (after Jesus) there is no command regarding specific giving amounts, though almost every example involves people giving beyond 10 percent and even more.
And although most of our giving goes to the church, we don’t give to a church. We don’t give to a priest. We give our offerings to God alone. In fact, the Bible teaches us to give, for our own good and our own blessing.
The Fifth Precept of the Church teaches us that “The Faithful also have the duty of providing for the material needs of the church, each according to his abilities”-CCC 2043. Therefore financially supporting the church is a religious obligation that every Catholic needs to fulfil irrespective of whether the church is rich or poor.
In the Archdiocese of Bombay, the Church expects that every Catholic supports the Church by contributing only 1% of the total family earning. This 1% income should be submitted in the Parish Office in an envelope as “Community welfare Fund”. The amount collected is utilized to help the poor and the deserving of our parish in the form of medical aid, educational help and other material benefits as and when approved by the CWF Committee.
