Dear Family of Faith,
As I mentioned last weekend, this Sunday I will be announcing the official pastorate that IHM will be part of and the accompanying priest assignments pertaining to Into the Deep. On Sunday afternoon, the whole model/map of all pastorates with all priest assignments will be posted on the Into the Deep website and the new priest assignments will be posted on the Diocese of Madison and the Catholic Herald websites. Thank you for your ongoing prayers for this, as we seek to realign our parish structures for the sake of mission and evangelization.
That leads me to our Lenten parish almsgiving. This year we are supporting The Pontifical Mission Societies (TPMS). TPMS is THE missionary arm of the Holy Father, supporting the works of the Church and the mission of the Gospel of Jesus throughout the world. Your donations go 100 percent to the Holy Father who then distributes it throughout the world! Under the umbrella of TPMS are four societies that each have a unique or distinct focus: Society for the Propagation of the Faith, Missionary Childhood Association (MCA), Society of St. Peter Apostle, and Missionary Union.
The story of TPMS begins in France in the early 19th century. Blessed Pauline Jaricot, inspired by letters about the Missions from her brother, starts gathering together small groups — mostly workers in her family’s silk factory. She asked each member of the group to offer daily prayer and a weekly sacrifice of a sous (the equivalent of a penny at that time) for the Church’s worldwide missionary work. Pauline insisted that her efforts be directed to all the Church’s missions, that it be universal.
From Pauline’s vision came the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The very first collection of the Propagation of the Faith in 1822 supported the vast diocese of Louisiana, which then extended from the Florida Keys to Canada, as well as the Missions of Kentucky and China.
The Propagation of the Faith continues to seek prayer and sacrifice for the world’s Missions, now some 1,100 dioceses in Asia, Africa, the Pacific Islands and remote regions of Latin America. Help is offered for pastoral and evangelizing programs, for catechists and catechetical work, to build churches and chapels, for the work of Religious Communities in health care and education, and for communication and transportation needs.
Next week I’ll share more about the other societies and the continued history of TPMS. Please see the table in the narthex of church to collect a donation box.
In Jesus,
Fr. Chad M. Droessler