Glenmary Brother David Henley helps unload donations of clothing delivered to Glenmary headquarters by parishioners of St. Paul the Apostle in Peotone, Ill., near Chicago.
When someone asks you to describe yourself, how do you respond? For most of us, self-identifying as a “missioner” in the Catholic Church wouldn’t be a likely response. Pope Francis asks us to challenge our own thinking, and to embrace the idea that every follower of Christ is called to be a missioner, to reflect the great gift of our faith and God’s love with those we encounter.
So where do you start? Father Don Tranel, Glenmary Home Missioner priest and Development Director, shares with us seven ways you can be a missioner with Glenmary.
1. Pray with us. It’s a two-way street: We all need each other’s prayers. Every day, at our missions and at our mission headquarters in Cincinnati, we Glenmarians and our lay coworkers pray for our benefactors. We hope that you will pray for us, too, throughout the day. Our prayers unite us in each other’s mission. We ask that God will bless all of our works abundantly.
2. Go to Mass with us in mind. So many people in so many parts of our land go without Mass and other sacraments for lack of a permanent Catholic presence. As you receive the sacraments, pray that others may receive them, too.
3. Share our ‘best-kept-secret.’ Try as we do, so many people have no idea who Glenmary is or what we do. When people learn more about us, like you, they become excited about our mission. Glenmary is a bright spot in our Church today.
4. Donate financially. We are so appreciative of your support. It helps missioners to spread everything good that the Catholic Church has to offer, whether in sacraments, works of mercy and justice, or sharing a greater, ecumenical understanding of the Christian community. There are many ways to give—by phone or mail, by signing up for monthly giving, making a gift of stock or a donation from an IRA…and the list goes on! If any of these interest you, contact us so we can help you find which giving method suits you best.
5. Send us your prayer intentions. This is closely related to our suggestion to pray with us. Like friends spending time together, there is something special about naming your needs and allowing us to bring them into our chapel for daily prayer. You can mail them to us, or submit them online at www.Glenmary.org/prayer.
6. Host a donor gathering. Now, this suggestion is asking for a little more! But some of our donors are in a situation where they could open their houses (or parish halls) for a get-together of like-minded folks. Of course, we can help you with this, telling other donors in your area about your event, helping you to coordinate it—any help you need. Contact us if you want to explore this. And, of course, you can invite friends of yours to learn about Glenmary.
7. Give without paying! You can enroll in “Kroger Community Rewards” or “Amazon Smile.” Kroger and Amazon will make a small donation to Glenmary for every purchase you make. Glenmary is #27270 at KrogerCommunityRewards.com; you can find Glenmary Home Missioners on the dropdown menu at Smile.Amazon.com.
This story first appeared in our Cultivate newsletter, publication of Glenmary’s monthly giving program.