Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
"May the Word of Christ dwell in you abundantly". This is the theme that leads our journey. As I've shared with you in different times and places, we'd like the Word of Christ to enlighten us daily. We'd also like to become more familiar with the way the first Christians welcomed Christ's Word in their lives.
The book of the Acts of the Apostles tells us about a man called Barnabas. He was not one of the twelve but the Church remembers him as an apostle. "He owned a piece of land he sold it and brought the money and presented it to the apostles" (Acts 4, 36). We might be surprised about this but the sharing of what each one had seems to have been common at the beginning of the Church. In fact we read: "The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common... None of their members was ever in want as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need" (Acts 4:32.34).
No one was obliged to do it. In his second letter to the Corinthians Pauls says: "Each one should give as much as he has decided on his own initiative, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9, 7).
This sharing would provide for each other's need, especially those of the poorest among them and for the needs of the Church. Paul writes to the Corinthians regarding the churches of Macedonia saying: "I can testify that it was of their own accord that they made their gift, which was not merely as far as their resources would allow, but well beyond their resources; and they had kept imploring us most insistently for the privilege of a share in the fellowship of service to God's holy people..." (2 Cor 8, 5).
They were deeply generous and had great joy supporting financially each other and the apostles.
In the last three years, since I was appointed Bishop, I've seen the same joy in giving in many of the communities I visited. I just mention some: the increase in the collections and donations at our yearly pilgrimage, the isivuno and amathalente celebrated in the different Missions, your concern for the daily needs of the Bishop and in a special way after a number of things were stolen in August, the financial support given by the different sodalities and groups of the Vicariate... It is a sign that the spirit of the first Christians, still remains today among us and that is why with an open heart I'd like to share with you some aspects of the present financial situation of our Vicariate.
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The Vicariate has changed in the last few years. Just a few years' ago, all the priests serving the Vicariate of Ingwavuma were coming from abroad. Through their friends, their religious congregation, the local Churches to which they belonged, they were able to generously support the building of the Vicariate: the needs of the poor, the training of our seminarians (who are our local priests today), the formation and training of catechists and other leaders, the financial support of the priests and religious, the building and maintenance of our Churches, the buying and maintenance of all the vehicles... in short the daily need of our communities. Each one of us in the Vicariate of Ingwavuma should always have a strong sense of gratitude for all that has been done so generously and for so many years (more than 60!).
Today, the number of foreign missionaries has come down and more than half of our priests of the Vicariate are local. God has blessed us with local vocations. It is a great gift. It is a sign that the Gospel is deeply touching the life of our young people and they want to give themselves, body and soul, to follow Jesus.
Our country is no longer seen as a country in need. These last three years I've been in touch with different organisations looking for help for the Vicariate. The first reaction is always the same: "South Africa is not one of our priorities... South Africa is a rich country... We've seen what a great country South Africa is... and how well you organised the World Cup and other events". Even though our area might be deeply affected by poverty and unemployment, it is not easy to get support for our projects and daily needs.
This is a great challenge. We are called:
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to thank God for all that we have received all these years;
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to remember that this is our Church and it is in our hands to support her every need;
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What are we now called to do?
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I'd like to start with the words Bishop O'Shea OSM wrote to you some years ago: "To begin with, I wish to assure you that our Church can become self-reliant. To succeed we must accept two things. Firstly, we must believe that this is possible. It will require effort, much effort, and it will take time but it will happen if we all work together and accept our responsibility. Secondly, we must believe that the contribution of each person is important. True, individual contributions might seem to make little difference. But it is the combination of all these efforts that can produce wonderful results. We all like to see a good field of mealies in the summer time. But, even the largest field of mealies is made up of single mealie stalks with one or more ears of corn."1
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You already know that since the beginning of last year I have transferred the maintenance of the vehicles of the Vicariate to the single Parishes. Make sure you build a fund to maintain them. In the last two years, we've been able to replace nine of our vehicles. Buying new vehicles is a huge challenge. Foreign organisations are now reluctant to help as they did before. We must thank God for this blessing. Making sure we look after them properly is the best way to do it.
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A Finance Committee for the Vicariate has been created and a first draft of its "statutes" is in place. All the parishes are represented. The task of the committee is to improve financial sustainability and transparency in the administration and to help the Bishop run the Vicariate with less financial constraint.
They will make sure there's a finance committee in every local church and parish, provide financial training (administration) wherever necessary, monitor running costs of each parish, audit or provide auditors of the parish finance, offer training in fund-raising, help reviewing and implementation of "stole fees".
I ask you all to welcome this new committee and support their service to our communities.
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On the level of our faithful, grown up members of the Catholic Family should be willing to take responsibility for the raising and education of younger members, be it small congregations or individuals. It is time to make one's contribution. Also as a Christian Family we should practice the African value of reciprocity.
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It is essential that we commit ourselves faithfully with our pledges. You know that most of the Christian churches would ask for 10% of your income. Is your contribution at least 2% of your income? I ask you to remember Paul's words: "Each one should give as much as he has decided on his own initiative, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver". Commit yourself to your Church and do it with joy. Pledges should be renewed annually so as to keep up with inflation and make it a gift of thanksgiving to God: "We can pray: 'Lord, you have given me everything. Take this money as a sign of gratitude and love for you'"2.
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From 2012, the pledges will no longer be divided in three (50% to the parish account, 25% to the PPC, 25% to the local church). Pledges will be divided in four (40% to the parish account, 20% to the PPC, 20% to the local church and 20% to the Vicariate account). This is an important sign of the responsibility of us all towards our diocesan Church.
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I'd also invite each one of you to put your personal gifts at the service of the Church. It is quite common to see teachers teaching catechism. Could we apply this to other gifts we have received? There should not be any need in employing someone to fix our churches, cut the grass, visit the sick, look after orphans, clean the church... Those who were confirmed in the last months are committing themselves to do so. Would you...?
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a very important time for our Vicariate. Quoting what the Bishops of Southern Africa wrote a few years' ago I say: "It is time to sit together in your parishes and communities to discuss how to support yourselves financially. In this way you make a plan to get rid of your crutches and stand on your own feet - rather than staying a cripple begging from other people. Get up! Walk without crutches!"3.
I invite you all to be grateful to God for his constant blessing upon us, to pray and reflect the Biblical texts I quoted above and to grow in love and support for our Church. May God's Word dwell in us all abundantly.
Fraternally yours in Christ and Mary,
+ José Luis IMC
Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord, 2012
1"Pastoral Letter On Financial Self-reliance" Bishop Michael O'Shea OSM
2"Get up! Walk without crutches" (3) SACBC August 2005
3"Get up! Walk without crutches" (5) SACBC August 2005
