Charity, Joplin, and This Weekend's Special Collection

I wrote about the situation in Joplin, Missouri, yesterday. (May 25, 2011) Besides praying for folks who died in the recent storms, and for survivors, I suggested donating to Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri:

• Catholic Charities
  Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri
  • Support the Victims of the Joplin Tornado

Again, no pressure. It's just a suggestion.

Special Collection This Weekend

Last Sunday I learned that Bishop John Kinney asked for a special collection this weekend. This week's bulletin reminded us that the local parishes - St Alexius in Westport, St. Paul here in Sauk Centre, and Our Lady of the Angels just down the street - will be collecting money "for those who have suffered from destructive storms and tornadoes recently in the United States."

The Joplin tornado hadn't hit when the announcement was made, but my guess is that at least part of the money collected will go there. If not, there's no shortage of folks affected by this month's storms.

My wife and I discussed the collection, and decided on an amount to give: simple routine for this sort of thing.

Charity: Where to start, Where to Stop

Could we have decided to give more? Yes. We could have decided to sell everything we have, and give the proceeds to this collection. That would have left the family in a pickle: and made it impossible for us to contribute anything to the next worthy cause.

That wouldn't, I think, have been a good idea.

Could we have decided to give less? Yes. We could have decided to ignore the special collection. Since we can afford to give something, that wouldn't have been very charitable,¹ though.

Ignoring the special collection wouldn't, I think, have been a good idea either.

Charity is, I think, a good idea. It's also one of the theological virtues. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822) The other two are faith and hope - and that's another topic. (Catechism, 1813) Then there's the obligation to tithe - yet another topic. It's connected to the seventh commandment. (Catechism, 2449)

As far as I know, there is no hard-and-fast rule in the Catholic Church that says we absolutely have to give 10 percent of our earnings to the Church and/or charity. But then, I'm "some guy with a blog," as I've said before.

Charity - Everybody Does It

I've noticed examples of folks acting charitably every place I've lived: and read about charity happening in many place I've never seen. (March 17, 2011)

That doesn't surprise me. It probably has to do with natural law, and that's yet one more topic. (Catechism, 1952-1960)

Related posts:

• "Haiti: T-Shelters, Catholic Relief Services, and Lent"
  (March 30, 2011)
• "Japan, Catholic Relief Services, and Fraternal Sharing"
  (March 20, 2011)
• "A Busted Pipe, Amos, and Prudent Use of Material Goods"
  (September 19, 2010)
• "Neighbors, Charity, and What the Pope Said"
  (July 16, 2010)
• "Hats Off to New Orleans Parishioners"
  (July 2, 2010)

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¹ Charity:

"CHARITY: The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (1822)."
(C, Glossary, Catechism of the Catholic Church)