Paul's 2009 Annual Catholic Appeal Talk

Talk by Paul Masek
for the Annual Catholic Appeal
St. John Bosco Parish
April 25 & 26, 2009

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. That is the theme of this year's Annual Catholic Appeal. Until I was asked to speak to you this weekend, I don't think I ever seriously reflected on those words. I'm ashamed to admit that, but it's true. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord. The priest says those words at the end of Mass, and I have always just automatically responded "Thanks be to God", because I am always thankful when Mass is over, right, I mean, aren't you? And not only are we thankful because we have just received the Eucharist, but also because we love weekends and usually have some fun and interesting plans after Mass, right?

I have been blessed, because in preparing to speak to you this weekend I have been able to reflect upon these very powerful words - go in peace to love and serve the Lord - and I have been greatly encouraged by what God is trying to teach me.

To love and serve the Lord is, of course, not just about loving and serving Jesus Himself, though of course our prayer and worship are extremely important. To me the greater challenge comes when Jesus himself tells us in the Gospel of Matthew "as often as you've done it to the least of these, you've done it unto me" so that means that loving and serving the Lord also means loving and serving those who are hungry, thirsty, homeless, shivering, sick and in prison.

I don't know about you, but I find that call of Jesus overwhelming! Especially when I read in the Gospel that how I love and serve Jesus in others is how I will be judged at the end of time! I mean, c'mon, who among us can love and serve all of the hurting people in the world? None of us as individuals or families can do this. But together we can. As a church we can. And to me, that is the beauty of the Annual Catholic Appeal. By supporting the ACA, we can love and serve the Lord Jesus in what Mother Teresa referred to as "His distressing disguise". The Annual Catholic Appeal funds services to the homeless, the poor, children, teenagers, unwed mothers, couples preparing for marriage, and countless other outreaches in the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

I know that times are tough, and that because of our current economic downturn some might be tempted to give less - or not give at all - to the ACA. However, precisely because theses times are so tough the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ are greater than ever...so I want to encourage you to give at least as much as you gave last year. Unless of course you did not give at all last year; in that case I encourage you to give something. No gift is too small. And of course no gift is too large. And I know that it will make quite a statement to our newly appointed Archbishop Carlson when we meet or exceed this year's goal. Your pastor has informed me of your generosity in the past...thank for what you have done, and for what you will continue to do.

The reason I can thank you personally for your past and future support of the ACA is because I am blessed to work for the Catholic Youth Apostolate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Specifically, I am the coordinator of the REAP Team, a Catholic youth retreat ministry, and we are directly supported by your generosity to the ACA.

In my job with the REAP Team, I get to work with teenagers every day - if we are not out doing retreats, then we are in the office responding to questions teens have or helping them with their problems - because we not only meet teens where they are at on retreats, but also where they are at in the virtual world - through email, our blogs, our website, Facebook, and quite recently we even established a presence on Twitter.

I will share with you a couple of comments from people who have attended our retreats in just a moment.

But before I do, I want to tell you a little bit more about myself and a couple of connections I have to your parish. My name is Paul Masek, and I have been married for 19 years...to the same woman. Her name is Lisa. She grew up in Bridgeton in St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish and I grew up in Overland in St. Jude Parish. We now are members of Holy Trinity Parish in St. Ann. Our 4th grader and our 7th grader go to Holy Trinity School and our twin 9th graders go to Pattonville High School, which is not too far from here. My Freshmen daughter is a cheerleader and my Freshmen son plays on the JV golf team. His home course is Crystal Springs Quarry, right down the street. And we live in Maryland Heights, very near the corner of Dorsett and Lindbergh.

And I am especially honored to be here today because my Uncle Ray and my Aunt Doris Meyer are members of this parish; as a matter of fact, they have been parishioners of St. John Bosco for 37 years - since the parish was founded in 1972. My Uncle Ray counts money for the parish after Masses, and my Aunt Doris - who also happens to be my godmother - is an active member of both the Ladies' Guild and the Quilter's Club. Perhaps you have heard my aunt Doris sing? She is a cantor at 9:30 a.m. Mass.

Another connection I have with this parish is that for the past 12 years the REAP Team, the ministry that I coordinate, has presented Confirmation retreats for the 8th graders from your parish. If any of you have ever been on a retreat with the REAP Team, please say hi to me after Mass - I will be available in the back of church - I'd love to hear what you most remember from your retreat with us. I will also be available if anyone wants to learn more about the REAP Team, and I even brought with me some literature that will help you to know more about what the REAP Team does.  It is on a table in the back of church.

Every student who attends a retreat with the REAP Team has the opportunity to fill out an evaluation form to let us know what they thought of our retreat, and they are also given information how to contact us online, in case they ever need to talk to someone or want to give us feedback. Right now, I want to share with you just a little bit of the feedback we have received during these past couple of months.

A teenage boy wrote to me on Facebook

I bet you don't remember me but I went to a retreat with you guys 2 years ago and loved it. And today my sister went to one with you and also loved it. I just want to say thanks for helping us both live better lives.

A dad emailed me after attending a retreat with his teenage son,

I just wanted you to know how nice it was to hear someone besides a priest talk about being Catholic. You were under the radar with me until I heard you and I really enjoyed listening. Even my son who has a learning disability told me he "really got it" during a skit you guys did. That in itself is awesome!!! Anyway, keep up your work. I got the impression it wasn't work for you because your enjoyment was transparent. You made my eyeballs misty and opened my heart!

A teenage boy wrote

My name is Mike and I was a high school helper at the confirmation retreat you did. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed attending your retreat. I felt like it was me on retreat! You truly have a gift of speaking and relating the faith to the youth. As soon as I got home I downloaded all of your podcasts and listened to them on my 24 hour bus ride to Washington DC for the pro- life march. They are exactly what I have been searching for! I had been searching for a teen catholic podcast that I could connect with and that is exactly what you provided me. Keep up your amazing work because it is an inspiration to everyone!

And, finally, a young woman in high school wrote

So today you came to my school and me and some of my friends were like oh great a mental health day lol. Lately we really haven't been living the way we ought to. To be honest I've been a pretty horrible person lately and I wanted some way to tell my friends I just couldn't do it anymore. I go home and even though I have all of these friends I cry. I just cry for no reason really I mean I have all the friends I could want, I'm popular, I go to parties, I have a realllllyyyyy cute boyfriend but I realized that's not what I want anymore. When we went to lunch today I decided to tell them that I really don't want to go to those kind of parties anymore. I called my boyfriend and I told him that we needed to change our relationship and instead dumped him b/c he liked the way things were. But I feel so free now. For the past hour I've been sitting at the park just thinking of how I haven't felt this good in a few years. I signed my Chastity card and set up reconciliation with my priest. But honestly I really wanted to tell you how truly thankful I am that you care. I know sometimes it's hard to do what you do because there are those kids that don't get the message. I'll be praying for you and yours. Thank you! =]

I honestly believe that these people, and many others, have been touched by God because of your generosity to the Annual Catholic Appeal.

In conclusion, I want to thank your pastor Fr. Welsch for giving me the opportunity to speak this morning. I want to thank all of you for your hospitality in listening to me. And I want to thank you once again for any past support you have given and any future support you might give to the Annual Catholic Appeal. In giving to the ACA, we can indeed go in peace to love and serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.