Most new year resolutions are intended for the person making them. Why not resolve to do a good deed for someone else instead? Fr. Wegner explains how as he encourages the faithful to join the growing number of supporters who have committed to a monthly gift in support of the priests of the SSPX.
Dear Friends,
A blessed Christmastide to you!
This joyful time of year, full of celebration in honor of the birth of Our Lord, affords you a certain relief from the busy pace of modern life. It is an opportunity for you to pause and make a backward glance at 2015 and greet the new year in a positive way.
Christmas is also a time of gathering with family and friends to exchange gifts, sharing time together, and thanking the special people in your life. It is also a time to share with those less fortunate. Perhaps you helped a needy family celebrate Christmas by purchasing toys and food for this special season. You give because God gives to you.
God gives you the Gift of all Gifts—His Son, Jesus Christ. He gives you priests to nourish you spiritually through the sacraments. The Church, in turn, calls us to contribute toward the support of priests who minister in His name.
As I have noted before, my position as District Superior demands that I pay careful attention to the welfare of those entrusted to me. While I am grateful for the tremendous growth of the Society of St. Pius X, the reality is that expenses rise as well: health insurance, travel costs for Mass circuits, district meetings and retreats for priests and brothers, seminary subsidies, and the myriad other administrative details that take place behind the scenes.
These bills arrive month after month, year after year. They are always there, like an unwelcome shadow, reminding me of their ever-increasing demands on our limited funds. Because the needs of our priests are a constant and growing reality, I need a reliable source of funds to assure that these obligations are met.
That is why I am issuing a call to action to you to help our priests and religious by making a monthly commitment to say “thank you” for their hard work and sacrifice for your souls. My goal is to find 1,000 generous souls to join in partnership with our priests. It would be such a comfort to know that I can care for the basic needs of our priests without worrying each month where the money will come from.
Will you please join the 230 supporters who have already committed to a monthly gift in support of the priests of the SSPX? A recurring donation of $30, $60, or $75 is no more than the cost of a daily cup of coffee or of lunch or dinner out a few times a month, yet it will enable our priests to perform their work for the glory of God.
To show my appreciation for your generosity in making a monthly commitment, I have established a special group called “In Partnership With Priests,” whose members enjoy the following benefits:
- An exclusive newsletter.
- A Mass said on the first Friday of each month for their intentions by the priests of the Regina Coeli House.
- A unique medal/keychain inscribed with the twin hearts of the Society of St. Pius X and the episcopal motto of our beloved founder, Archbishop Lefebvre: Et nos credidimus caritati (We have believed in charity) (I John 4:16). This keychain can be carried with you as a reminder of your membership and your commitment to the care of those who do so much to nourish your soul.
- Members at the $75 level also receive a signed copy of the hardbound edition of Bishop Tissier de Mallerais’ monumental biography of Archbishop Lefebvre.
In this new year, please make a resolution that will help bring the light of Christ to a darkened world by making a gift of just a dollar or two each day—adding up to a monthly partnership that will make a real difference in the lives of our priests. Our Lord and His mother will surely bless your generosity made in support of these “other Christs.”
With profound gratitude for your past generosity, and appealing to your continued support, I remain,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr. Jurgen Wegner
United States District Superior
PS: Although a small, recurring gift may seem to lack the sense of heroic sacrifice which accompanies a larger gift, those of you who respond to my challenge are heroes indeed, “who hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28)