In the Gospel for today, Jesus praises the clever steward who manages his master’s wealth to aid his debtors.  One can put wealth to good use, but one “cannot serve both God and mammon.”  As we did a quick reflection on this Gospel at last Monday’s Pastoral Council, a humble soul admitted that he did not understand what the word “Mammon” meant.  I was surprised that after 12 years of Catholic education, he honestly didn’t know.  He was not alone in his ignorance.  Even though we reflect upon the scriptures every time we gather to worship, it goes to show you the great need among Catholic adults for Adult Faith Formation and Biblical Literacy.  I think our Protestant brothers and sisters have a much better handle on this.  But we of course trump them with having the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Mammon in the New Testament is commonly thought to mean money, material wealth, or any entity that promises wealth, and is associated with the greedy pursuit of gain. The Gospels of Luke and of Matthew both quote Jesus using the word in a phrase often rendered in English as "You cannot serve both God and mammon."   Mammon in Hebrew means "money".

So, how does God want you to use your wealth?  It is a good question to reflect upon as we listen to the Mission Cooperative Appeal today.  One purpose of the Appeal is to try to see beyond the barriers of language and culture to sense how our Catholic Church is truly universal.  We thank Sr. Henrietta Okoro for giving us a deeper appreciation for the Church in Africa.   Sister is a member of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus, which was the first religious community of women in English speaking Africa.  My “Nigerian Son”, Fr. Solomon, knows and supports the community as they care for his special needs nephew.  Presently, the Congregation has established convents and evangelization ministries in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Togo, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Italy, England, and Germany, as well as the United State of America, Canada, and Grenada.  I know you will be generous to Sister’s Appeal.

Your generosity to the people suffering in the Bahamas was wonderful.  In the past two weeks, we have collected over $3100. which we will match from our Stewardship Account, which is funded from the proceeds of the Parish Thrift Shop.  There had been talk of an ecumenical effort to collect materials to help the Junkanoo folks who travel from the Bahamas to liven up our St. Patrick festivities, but I think Jack Flanagan from the Crab Shack soon realized how complicated such an effort could be.  So, Jack has set up an account with SunTrust Bank for the Tribe.  The title is Barabbas and the Tribe Bahamian Relief Fund.  In my opinion, I think the professionals from Catholic Relief Services can do the most good, so our Faith Community will send a check for $5665 to Catholic Relief Services but to be team players for the Tybee effort we will contribute $620 to Barabbas and the Tribe for a total of $6285.

Your generosity to Joann Naylor’s appeals last weekend was also wonderful.  We now have a good start to our Box of Joy project, and I am especially pleased that we filled all our commitments for the Family Promise Week on Tybee which starts next Sunday.  I like being pastor of a parish that has so many committed disciples of Jesus.  You are such good stewards of God’s Blessings.  And I am so happy to report that the Pastoral Council has selected Mike Beytagh and Ginny Murphy to be this year’s Gartland Award Recipients.  Talk about two very committed Disciples of Jesus Christ!!!!

Fr. Jerry Ragan