Throughout this Easter Season, we recall time and again the love and generosity of Jesus toward us. 

 

The Son of God was born as one of us, died for us and then He offered us eternal life through His resurrection. As St. Paul told us, “…for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by His poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9).

 

Just as Christ gave of His divine wealth for us, He asks us to imitate Him. Our lives as Catholics are lived to the fullest when we reach out to share our faith and our very selves to serve Christ and those in need. In short, we should be an extension of Jesus Christ to the world.

 

This sharing of self, becoming an extension of Jesus in this world, is at the heart of authentic Christian living. It makes real Jesus’s statement that He is the vine and joined to Him we are the branches. This vital connection is a sign of our life in Him.

 

I mention this because the weekend of May 1-2 will be the pledge weekend for the 2021 Diocesan Appeal. I ask all of the faithful to prayerfully consider making a generous contribution to the work of Jesus that we carry out here in the Diocese of Rockford.

 

Each year, I am grateful for the consideration that you show for our many diocesan ministries including my own ministry as bishop. 

 

I invite you to join me in supporting the great work of Catholic education. In this challenging year of COVID-19, our schools made great sacrifices to teach in-person so that our students could continue at the highest level of their learning and their spiritual formation.

 

Your gifts each year also fund the administration of the diocese that is so important for the lives of parishes and for programs that prepare couples for Catholic marriage, support the right to life of those not yet born, and make possible the various works of Catholic Charities. 

 

Of course this year of COVID-19 has brought financial challenges to many. That is also true for many of our parishes and for the Diocese of Rockford. We have also been hit hard even as the needs have grown.

 

However, as your bishop, despite these challenges I must not only look to all of the current needs of the Church, I must also look to the future. For example, we must continue to commit to training our seminarians, your next generation of priests who will minister to you and your family, and the catechists who are so important to religious education.

 

That’s why I turn to you in a special way this year. Our annual appeal theme is, “Bear Much Fruit.” Healthy branches that extend from a vine do just that. I ask you to be extensions of Christ the vine, with me. Through our gifts to the 2021 Diocesan Appeal we take part in the mission of Christ to bear much fruit and help those in need. 

 

Please consider a donation this year. Given the pressures this past year has placed on our ministries, if you have not made a gift to the annual appeal in the past, could you begin this year? And, if you have already given, would you please consider increasing your gift so that our work can continue to bear much fruit?

 

Thank you for each and every contribution. I am grateful for your support of our diocesan efforts made on your behalf to carry out this work, which is an essential part of our Catholic faith and love for the world.