Catholic Mission In Canada

In Hollywood, there is an enormous technical lab that was set up a few years ago to restore and preserve films. It was discovered, to the chagrin of many movie buffs, that films were simply disappearing because of the inevitable deterioration that happens over the course of time.

This preservation lab gives you an idea of the temporary nature of most material things. You know only too well how light bulbs blow, batteries wear down, clothes wear out, roofs have to be replaced, roads need to be repaired regularly.

What is permanent, except God, and our faith, and a few relationships of love, and our eternal souls?

We have all seen how material things and human institutions we regarded as stable in our lives have altered and perhaps even disappeared with time. That is why it is a certain consolation for us to know that the spiritual elements of our existence through the Church can indeed be a force for permanence, not only for us in our hopes, but long after each of us has gone.

Many people are seeing how that stability can be preserved through endowments with Catholic Missions In Canada. And this happens in two ways.  

First of all, an endowment in your own name or someone else's name, marks your commitment to our faith with a definite and lasting stamp. An endowment is in perpetuity, so the name of the benefactor or the person named by the donor continues indefinitely. The principal of your endowed gift is untouched, ever, and the income on that gift works to continue the missionary efforts already begun, in the name of the person or persons designated.

Second, income on an endowment continues the person's desire to see that the Good News of Jesus Christ is spread everywhere, by enabling our missionaries to do the work of the Divine, spreading the Word of the Lord throughout this vast country.

As the New Testament tells us: "The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures for ever." (1 Peter 1:24)

I invite you to read the stories and articles in this issue of Highlights concerning the wonderful way of giving expression to the desire for spiritual permanence through endowments to our home missions.

(Reprinted from Catholic Missions In Canada Highlights, May 2007)