What do we seek in life?
What do we want most in life?
We want peace, we want hope and we want love.
Christ came to save us, to love us, and above all to teach us.
Let U.S.
Open our minds and hearts to God's message.
I think about stewardship and the importance it's a non negotiable.
It's not an opt in, opt out kind of thing in the gospel.
We're either all in as a disciple of the Lord or we're out.
If you have faith, that's one thing, but certainly faith without works is dead.
I think the biggest thing about giving is knowing not to count the cost.
There's an expression giving until it hurts,
but I would say for me it's more about giving until we receive peace.
When we give in that way, we are entering into Christ.
It's about union with Jesus.
Man can only find himself or discover himself through the sincere gift of
himself.
And the more we give, the more we become alive,
the more human we are.
Every family we help is 1 less family in need.
The biggest number comes to us for food assistance.
We move over £3,000,000 of food a year.
We have our boxes right here full of meat produce.
We are so excited to serve our clients today.
I do this for the church.
I do this for the needy.
Enjoy every minute of it.
We have more phone calls and requests for assistance than we can possibly deal with,
but it's the beautiful part of being a part of the Diocese of Orlando.
We work in conjunction potentially with 90 parishes,
37 schools and we can make a difference if we choose to do so.
I think Magnify is such a gift to the church.
We are very mission driven and we're very Christ driven.
Everyone with a disability, just like everyone else, needs choices.
Immediately we noticed Sydney had something special.
Very curious here because once she gets it,
then she's going to repeat it back and keep everybody else in line.
What do we do?
We we sock, we sock, mop and clean.
There we go.
Because I had Sydney, it was an easy transition for a net.
They both do a wonderful job at what they do.
It feels good that we funny graduating, having our own money.
It feels like I'm an adult.
Every single year we find additional opportunities because of those donations.
I think in our world today, we're all really working hard to define
ourselves.
I think our students are trying to figure out who they are,
and society tries to define us in a lot of ways.
And I think that there's a blessing in our Catholic school communities,
in our identity.
I really love my school, and they have encouraged me to always be
close to God.
I think it's important to say yes to God because He's the center of our lives.
If we want to go to heaven, we always need to be close to Him.
I see God through my students, through the way that their eyes light up
when we're talking about their favorite Saints,
through their excitement when we're getting ready to go over to adoration as
they spend time in prayer.
A lot of people think that teenagers or high schoolers don't care about faith,
but that couldn't be farther from the truth.
They really do care, they want Jesus.
We need to as a diocese, as a church, not be afraid to call people by name,
to say you look like a great priest.
I see it within you and I really hope you'll pray and ask God if that's for you.
As I consider Lord, what is the kind of man you're calling me
to be?
I just think about a man who is unafraid of proclaiming the gospel.
I hope to be that bridge for the people of God,
to bring God to his people and the people to God.
All this wonderful stuff that I learned in the seminary,
it went from the longest distance from my head into my heart.
Now I own it and I love it and it's on fire in me and I can't wait to give it to
the people of God.
Through their prayers.
The Lord fills us with grace.
Our Lady fills us with grace.
All these great experiences that the seminarians have,
that's paid for by the people of God.
All of us have something that we do outside the walls,
whether it's in the hospital or in the prisons or at the food pantries.
And that's where you really live out your vocation is with the people.
All you have to do is give what you have.
Don't hold it back.
Give what you can and he'll multiply it.
And if it hurts a little bit, that's the sacrifice.
That's what we're called to do.
It's not about how much you give, it's about the spirit that you give with
where your heart lies, your treasure is.
And whatever you can give, whether it's your presence, whatever,
it helps the whole community.
And I think that's really important over the last two years of tremendous growth,
just just tremendous growth.
And we continue to grow.
And as Viera grows, we have over 500 volunteers that work
ministries, lectors, ushers.
People are really coming back to the church and they are having their children
participating in the church.
So it's really heartening to see that young people are going to keep this going.
The younger people, we're going to carry on the torch as us
older people step back.
I love this church because not only did it help me find Christ,
but it also taught me more of what it meant to be a Christian.
What's been really beautiful for for me as a father has been seeing the growth of
my kids and how they've grown in Christ, and it gives me a lot of hope that the
next generation are learning and understanding and growing in their faith.
Your gift truly makes a difference across 9 counties in Central Florida.
Please help us continue to care for the elderly, dying and imprisoned,
heal the sick with free medical and dental clinics, walk with moms in need,
provide affordable housing, maintain Catholic schools and plan for
new locations.
Support religious sisters, strengthen clergy formation,
ensure diocesan properties and design new sacred spaces.
Our parishes here in the Diocese of Orlando are growing and there is need for
new parishes.
And yet it is only through you, the people of God,
and your generosity that all these things come about.
So I thank you for the gifts you have given us and I hope and pray that you
continue to support us so we can share these gifts with the future generations.
The Lord be with you, and may the blessing of Almighty
Godfather, Son and Holy Spirit descend upon you and
remain with you forever and ever.
Amen.