Priests' retirement fund gets gift at Partners breakfast

By Tanya Connor | The Catholic Free Press

    Without Partners in Charity supporters, many young people wouldn’t experience the relationship with Christ that youth ministry gives them, according to the head of that diocesan ministry.
    Timothy T. Messenger Jr., director of New Evangelization Worcester for Youth & Young Adults, was speaking at the annual Partners’ appreciation breakfast, Dec. 2.
    Those who donate more than $1,000 to the appeal are invited to attend, said Michael P. Gillespie, director of the diocesan Office of Stewardship and Development, who coordinates Partners.
    Usually the breakfast, held at Assumption College, is a time to hear about the work of one of the ministries that is supported by Partners in Charity, but this year one of the ministries also received a gift.
    Michael McNamara and his sister Annie McNamara gave Bishop McManus $200,000 for the diocesan Priests’ Retirement Fund, which is supported by Partners. The money was from their uncle, Father Philip D. McNamara, who died in November 2016. They said Father McNamara had received gifts during his life and he felt he had what he needed. So the family presented money he had saved.
    The McNamara family had already donated $100,000 at the “Celebrate Priesthood” gala in October, which also raises money for the Priests’ Retirement Fund.
    Bishop McManus recounted a story Father McNamara told The Catholic Free Press in 2009, about a Christmas he spent in Korea as a military chaplain. Christmas decorations his mother sent helped create the Christmas spirit, and local Catholics warmed his heart, as his fingers froze in an unheated chapel where he celebrated Mass for them.
    Mr. Gillespie asked priests at the breakfast to stand for recognition, and said, “Our priests play such a pivotal role” in the appeal.
Mr. Messenger talked about the role played by Partners supporters in general.
He began by telling a little about himself and his family; they came to the diocese this year after he got the job here. He said he and his wife, Megan, want to raise their children in the Catholic faith, and they rejoiced when prayer started to take root in their daughter, Lucy, now 4. So they taught her about Scripture too.
    Around the time her brother, Samuel, now 10 months, was born, she became obsessed with the Passion and Death of Jesus, Mr. Messenger said. When she wanted to act out Bible stories, she decided she would be an angel, her mother would be Mary and her father would be Jesus.
“Sam’s going to be Pontius Pilate,” she declared.
“That is a steep role for a little baby,” Mr. Messenger thought. “He’s going to have to condemn Jesus.”
Mr. Messenger likened that “steep role” to working for Partners in Charity, which can also be a challenge. He said donors trust Jesus to help their work bear fruit and build up his kingdom.
Many people are affected by the appeal, both those who benefit directly and those they interact with, he said.
“From your support and generosity, our young church benefits,” he said. He noted that people call youth the church of the future, but said they are also part of the present Church, battling a relativistic culture.
“It’s all made possible from your support and generosity,” he reiterated, and said Partners funds his office 100 percent.
Through sports organized by the office, young people experience the Church in a fun way, he said, expressing hope that that will lead them to go deeper into the faith. Nearly 600 highschoolers attended a youth rally “all centered around Jesus Christ,” he added, and said the office also offers confirmation retreats.
Without the support from the appeal, so many youth wouldn’t experience that relationship with Christ that’s available to them, he said.
He talked about the Scripture story of a master entrusting talents to his servants, two of whom made more, one of whom buried his, for fear of losing it.
“We all have received talents … whether it’s our time, … monetary resources,” Mr. Messenger said. He thanked listeners for investing their money, but also for really living the call to discipleship.
“It grows to build the kingdom of God,” he said.