I once read that the greatest gift one generation can give the next is hope.
For a Good Friday talk that I gave at the Cathedral Basilica, I focused on four gifts from the Cross: Compassion, Mercy, Peace and Hope. In planning the piece on Hope, I consulted my friend Monsignor Browne. Here’s what he said:
Like faith, hope is not knowledge, but a positive disposition of openness to the future in a CONVICTION that the end, like the origin, will be grounded in God.
It occurred to me that we give because we have hope, and in the process we GIVE hope.
I’ve been thinking about that in the context of legacy planning.
When you plan a gift, to your parish for example, this is a hope-filled act. You believe in the power and effectiveness of this faith community. It has contributed in material ways to you and your family. You have hope for a long and important life for the parish, and you want to be a part of that future.
Permanent gifts, those to endowment, provide hope to a community, easing the burden of constant fundraising.
This is what we call Forever Value.
I ask you to consider a planned gift to the endowment for your parish, or another Catholic ministry that you feel has been formative in your life, or that you believe is making an important difference in the community.
A gift of just 1% of your assets upon your death can be material for that organization. The Foundation can help in this process, and make it simple.
We give because God gave first. We have the hope that was embodied in Jesus the Christ, and is manifest in His ineffable gift of HIMSELF in the Eucharist.
Because of these gifts, we not only have hope, but a strong desire to ACT, to reach out to neighbors, welcome new community members, to BE the body of Christ.
Monsignor Browne also offered this:
Life is full of fragmentary signs of peace, justice and well being that hold out a note of promise to our human imagination. These signals come together in the Christian hope for resurrection and eternal life.
Hope and Legacy are so intertwined. It’s because of our hope that we choose to make a lasting gift, and the gift in turn sustains the hope.
So, buoyed by this hope, in gratitude and certitude, in anticipation of our eternal life, we lay the foundation of FOREVER VALUE for the ministries that sustain us.
Isaiah (6:8) heard the voice of the Lord saying “Whom shall I send? Who will go for me?” He answered “Here I am Lord. Send me.”
Let us respond as well, in permanent and meaningful ways, becoming part of an integrated message of Hope.
Contact the Foundation today to contribute HOPE: (408) 995-5219; cfoscc.org.