Fundraising

"Teach us, Lord, to number our days aright."

If we meet the needs of God's people, God's people will meet the needs of The Station of the Cross.

"This station is brought to you by you."

"Living the truth in love" Eph 4:15.

Our culture is starving for the truth of the gospel.

We cannot effectively clear the ground and produce good fruit unless we use the power tools provided by the Holy Spirit to do so.

Cardinal Bergoglio to the Cardinals

Thinking of the next Pope: a man who, through the contemplation of Jesus Christ and the adoration of Jesus Christ, may help the Church to go out from itself toward the existential peripheries, that may help it to be the fecund mother who lives “by the sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing.”

Beggars can't be choosers. We'll take anything you are willing to give.

Dream no small dreams. They have no power to move men's souls. We need $700,000 to burn the mortgage on the station in Boston, Mass.

Not too much, not too little

Gathering the manna

"Now, this is what the LORD has commanded. So gather it that everyone has enough to eat, an omer for each person, as many of you as there are, each man providing for those of his own tent." The Israelites did so. Some gathered a large and some a small amount. But when they measured it out by the omer, he who had gathered a large amount did not have too much, and he who had gathered a small amount did not have too little. They so gathered that everyone had enough to eat" (Ex 16:16-18).

Tobit 4:7-11

 ⁷ "Give alms from your possessions. Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, and God's face will not be turned away from you.

 ⁸ Son, give alms in proportion to what you own. If you have great wealth, give alms out of your abundance; if you have but little, distribute even some of that. But do not hesitate to give alms;

 ⁹ you will be storing up a goodly treasure for yourself against the day of adversity.

¹⁰ Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps one from going into the dark abode.

¹¹ Alms are a worthy offering in the sight of the Most High for all who give them.

Tobit 12:8-10

 ⁸ Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold;

 ⁹ for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;

¹⁰ but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.

2 Cor 9, 13-15

2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,

so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,

but that as a matter of equality

your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,

so that their abundance may also supply your needs,

that there may be equality.

As it is written:

Whoever had much did not have more,

and whoever had little did not have less.

"It is more blessed to give than to receive."

St. Paul

"I have never wanted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You know well that these very hands have served my needs and my companions. In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:33-35).

This is the only verse in the New Testament that records this saying of Jesus.

It is a joy to share the wealth with others.

• Everything we can give to God is something God gave to us first. “All is grace.”
• God will not be outdone in generosity. The gift is earthly; the reward is spiritual. Karma: doing good brings immediate rewards to the one who does good.
• God provides for our needs superabundantly (Jn 2: Wedding Feast at Cana).
• God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). “Joy is the last word.”
• "But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you" (Lk 11:41).

2 Cor 9:5-15

 ⁵ So I thought it necessary to encourage the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for your promised gift, so that in this way it might be ready as a bountiful gift and not as an exaction.

 ⁶ Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

 ⁷ Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 ⁸ Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.

 ⁹ As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."

¹⁰ The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

¹¹ You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God,

¹² for the administration of this public service is not only supplying the needs of the holy ones but is also overflowing in many acts of thanksgiving to God.

¹³ Through the evidence of this service, you are glorifying God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your contribution to them and to all others,

¹⁴ while in prayer on your behalf they long for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

¹⁵ Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

God will not be outdone in generosity (Sirach 35:7-10).

In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.

For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.

We are giving to Jesus

• Giving is an act of faith, hope, and love.
• It is a spiritual action that benefits the giver. Karma: every good deed we do blesses us first.
• The Person to whom we are giving is Jesus Himself. The money gets invested by the station, but the Person whom we are serving is the Lord.
• Everything we do for others is done for Jesus Himself. "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me" (Mt 25).
• The money goes to the station; the blessing goes to you.

Let's walk on the water together!

• Cornelius V. “Connie Mack” McGillicuddy and the mite boxes at Canisius High School.
• The Station of the Cross is an act of faith--not just on the part of the founders, but on the part of all of the staff, volunteers, benefactors, and friends of the station. It is a living, breathing miracle — a sign of God's activity in the world. We've gotten out of the boat and are walking on the water with Jesus (Matthew 14:29) because of the faith-full generosity of the listeners.

Special interest groups

• Canada
• Facebook
• Our most active callers on Faith 'n' Reason Fridays.
• iCatholicRadio listeners (iStuff and Androids). That gets us across borders into countries that don't allow Christians to own and operate radio stations.
• People who listen live on thestationofthecross.com.
• People who listen to podcasts of their favorite shows.

We are broadcasting good seed

Seven Kingdom parables in Matthew 13

1. Parable of the sower and the seed (13:1-23). There is no way to tell in advance what kind of soil the seed will find. That is a secret known to God alone. Our job is to broadcast: spread the seed widely over a large area. After that, it is up to God and the listeners to cultivate good fruit.

2. Parable of the weeds and the wheat (13:24-30, 36-43).

3. Parable of the mustard seed (13:31-32).

4. Parable of the yeast (13:33).

5. Parable of buried treasure (13:44).

6. Parable of the pearl of great price (13:45-46).

7. Parable of the net thrown in the sea (13:47-50).

Seed takes time to grow

We don't plant seeds one day and harvest apples the next.

There is a long growing season that comes between the planting and the harvest.

Mark 4:26-29

²⁶ He said, "This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land

²⁷ and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.

²⁸ Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

²⁹ And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come."

Numerology

24 hours a day x 365 days per year x $50 per hour = $438,000 per year.

CAC: 5 hours per week x 52 weeks of the year x $50 per hour = $13,000 per year.

Faith 'n' Reason Fridays: 52 shows per year x $50 per hour = $2,600.

Benefits

• People value what they pay for. "Own a piece of the Rock."

We are begging on behalf of God

• Like St. Francis and St. Dominic, we are beggars for the Lord.
• "Teresa and God can't do anything. But Teresa, God, and three ducats can change the world." The modern version of her saying is, "No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

Ministry of like to like

• "If you are baptized, you are a missionary." Originally a slogan of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. I heard it on the short blurbs for The Pontifical Mission Societies, I think.

Bearing fruit that will last

Fruit of the Spirit.

This is Reality Radio

I don't know yet what this means, but I think it is true.

Spiritual reality.

Financial reality.

Human reality.

"Cor ad cor loquitur."

We are not going to see the whole picture of how this fund drive fits into God's work of building the Kingdom in this lifetime. We have little pieces of a vast mosaic or a few threads in a great tapestry. God the artist who is creating a masterpiece, the architect who is building a great cathedral, the designer of our lives, the director of this production.

It is better that we have to beg

There is something wonderful about needing — and receiving! — the help of our brothers and sisters.

The Station of the Cross has "no visible means of support." The staff have been walking on water for fifteenyears (1999-2011).

The Fund Drive is a Fun Drive

It's an Evangelical Improviganza!

Like a retreat, only not so restful.

New and old friends.

Food.

Prayer.

Daily Mass.

Love and laughter.

Tom Sawyer principle: reveal the fun in the work and others will join in.

Different Gifts

• We talk.
• They give.
• The Body grows.

Small Things Add Up

"Don't sweat the small stuff. It's all small stuff!"

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus: make small sacrifices with great love.

Quentin's dollar in 2011: he gave his whole heart to Jesus with that gift to the station.

Sorites paradox: A snowstorm is nothing but little flakes of snow. A beach is nothing but tiny grains of sand. Small contributions make a big difference! Don't look down on yourself if all you can give is a little bit. Imitate the widow who was not ashamed to contribute what she could to the Temple.

The Station is an Amplifier

• Scattered embers stop burning.
• Little gifts added together make a huge difference — the gifts do more together than they do separately. This is the genius of the modern age.
• $177-million restoration project for St. Patrick's Cathedral.
• $2 million a year to televise one Mass a week in a big American city.

Life Long Learning

• We learn by doing.
• We learn by imitating what others have done and are doing.
• Data for insight.

The Rewards are Incalculable

We can keep track of income and expenses.

We can count the dollars donated.

We cannot reckon what God is doing in the hearts of our listeners and benefactors.

We cannot see all of the blessings that God gives through the station. We are walking by faith, not by sight.

"There is something greater here!"

"He who waters will himself be watered" (Prov 11:25).

The Whole Truth, and Almost Nothing But the Truth

The Station is:

• Pro-life: against abortion and euthanasia
• Pro-Natural Family Planning
• Pro-Joy
• Pro-Catholic
• Pro-Church
• Pro-Sacrament
• Pro-Salvation
• Pro-Jesus
• Pro-Truth

When I was watching over practical matters one summer in my seminary years, I bought food from one company whose products were guaranteed to have a two-year shelf life. The cookies tasted just as stale when newly-purchased as they did two years later. The Church has a pantry "where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal" (Mt 6:11). The gospel never gets moldy. The insights of the saints are as fresh and nourishing today as they were ten, twenty, or thirty centuries ago. "God is love, and all who abide in love abide in God, and God in them" (1 Jn 4:16).

The Church has kept all of the Deposit of Faith: the knowledge that Jesus gave to His disciples before His ascension into Heaven, the Body with many parts and many gifts, especially the pastoral gifts to protect the Deposit of Faith from corruption, and the seven sacraments. It is a great treasury of life, light, love, peace, and joy that is open and available to all of God's children. We may take as much as we like of this fountain of youth — it flows from the inexhaustible love of God Himself.

Not WWJD — What IS Jesus Doing?

I think I've heard people say, "If Jesus were alive today, He would be using the modern means of communication." But Jesus IS alive today — and He IS using the modern means of communication. Jesus is risen from the dead and reigns over the whole Kingdom of God, which is inside our hearts instead of outside our bodies, as earthly kingdoms are. The promise He made to His disciples in the ancient medium of heart-to-heart communication is still fulfilled in the modern world: "Whoever listens to you listens to me" (Lk 10:16).

Where your treasure is

From a Nomad Daughter

I heard a great fundraising teaching by protestants on the verse "where your treasure is, there will you heart be." - if you want folks to be involved, to feel part of something, to commit… you have to convince them to invest some of their treasure, then you can get at their heart.

We have to explain to people that they are getting good value for their investment in the station. It seems as though it is a one-way transaction: their wealth leaves their account and enters ours. But they are purchasing a pearl of great price and storing up treasure in Heaven. The only way to take it with you is to give it away before you go.

Vicarious satisfaction

Some of our listeners are homebound.

Some are bedridden.

Many are suffering from chronic ills — physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual.

We ask them to offer themselves to God on our behalf as a sacrificial victim in union with the self-sacrifice of Jesus, who was priest, victim, and altar of sacrifice in His atoning work on the Cross.

Some can give much.

Some can only give little.

All can give of themselves.

We are engaged in the Spiritual Works of Mercy

The programs broadcast on the Station of the Cross:

• Admonish the sinner.
• Instruct the ignorant.
• Counsel the doubtful.
• Comfort the sorrowful.
• Help people to bear wrongs patiently.
• Encourage our listeners to forgive all injuries.
• Give us an opportunity to pray for the living and the dead.

Litany for Fundraising

• Virgin Mary, Mother of God
• Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
• Virgin Mary, Untier of Knots
• Queen of Heaven
• Queen of Angels
• Queen of Apostles
• Queen of Evangelists
• Queen of Martyrs
• Our Lady of Fatima
• St. Joseph, Protector of Two Treasures
• St. Joseph, Terror of Demons
• St. Ann, Mother of the Mother of God
• St. Peter the Apostle
• St. Thomas the Apostle
• St. Monica
• St. Augustine
• St. Francis of Assisi
• St. Clare of Assisi
• St. Anthony
• St. Dominic
• St. Catherine of Sienna
• St. Joan of Arc
• St. Isidore of Seville
• St. Teresa of Avila
• St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face
• St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta
• St. Ignatius Loyola
• St. Francis Xavier
• St. John Brebeuf
• St. Isaac Jogues
• St. Kateri Tekawitha
• St. Charles Borromeo
• St. Philip Neri
• St. Gemma Galgani
• Sr. Faustina
• St. Padre Pio
• St. Maximilian Kolbe
• Pope St. John XXIII
• Pope St. John Paul the Great
• Ven. Solanus Casey
• Ven. Fr. Baker
• Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
• Fr. Steger
• Fr. Mark Illig