Reality of Lenten giving bites budget

But since Richard Medernach believes and lives his faith, he gives

- photo suppliedphoto-credit Richard Medernach and his five-year-old son Joseph read the Lifestyle Awareness Calendar. The calendar includes daily reflections and donation suggestions for Development and Peace’s Share Lent.

By RICHARD MEDERNACH
Special to the WCR

The slogan of this year's Development and Peace Share Lent campaign is, "I believe. I give." I believe in the great work done by D&P and so I give some of my time and resources to help that work continue.

As I write this article, it is Lent. Lent is a time when Catholics and Christians from other denominations try to shed some of the excess in their lives in order to prepare for the most important day of the year, Easter.

One of my favourite Lenten traditions is to use the Development and Peace Lifestyle Awareness Calendar to help me keep my life in perspective.

The calendar features daily reflections and donation suggestions that help make the run-up to Easter more meaningful to me. Some of the days are simple.

Feb. 6 reads "If you can say: I believe in justice and solidarity, contribute $1." So I put one dollar in the Share Lent jar and so does my wife. I teach my five-year-old son Joseph to say it as well, so another loonie goes into the jar. My son Sam doesn't talk yet so he's off the hook for Feb. 6.

Other days are more challenging. March 6 reads, "Development and Peace partner YARAC in Nigeria uses sports to teach youth about development and democracy. Contribute 50 cents for each piece of sporting equipment in your house."

So after some quick inventory and some lame attempts at rationalization about counting a whole set as one item versus each golf club separately, I arrive at about a $50 total.

Whoa! I was thinking the whole calendar total would be about $50. It was time to edit the monthly budget. I can hardly complain. I had just spent $50 to register Joseph in soccer. It seems fair that some child in Nigeria might also get to play soccer because of my donation.

Some of the days on the calendar don't ask for any financial contribution at all. Feb. 24 reads, "Consider in prayer: Earth's resources must be shared in an equitable manner that allows current and future generations to meet their needs." I believe that is true, and I am grateful for all the blessings I have, so I want to share with those who face greater struggles.

For me, giving to Development and Peace is not merely an act of charity. It is one of the most important ways I have to live my Christian faith. I believe. I give.

I believe the central message of the Gospels is to love God and to love God's children - that's everyone by the way. I believe I can best bear witness to my faith by working for peace and justice and so I participate in, and give to, an organization that is doing just that.

(Richard Medernach is a long-time member and supporter of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace. He lives in Saskatoon and enjoys fighting oppression and watching cartoons with his sons. Learn more about D&P at www.devp.org.)

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