Archbishop calls Miter Society members to life of prayer, service

Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein and concelebrating priests offer the eucharistic prayer at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral during a Mass for members of the Miter Society on May 2.

By Brandon A. Evans

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True Christian charity flows from prayer and enables us to show the face of Jesus to the world. True charity kneels before God for its strength and withers without him.

This inseparability of prayer and charity was the theme that Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein stressed during a May 2 Mass at SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Indianapolis with Catholics from various parishes that are part of the Miter Society.

The society is made up of faithful stewards who have made large gifts to the annual United Catholic Appeal (UCA) or the recent Legacy for Our Mission: For Our Children and the Future campaign. It consists of people who have made significant sacrifices for the benefit of the local Church.

There are about 300 Miter Society members, but because of the ongoing Legacy for Our Mission campaign, 1,900 people were added as honorary members this year.

“Every gift to the UCA is greatly appreciated, and we try to show this in many different ways,” said Ron Greulich, director of major gifts for the archdiocese. “We promptly thank people and let them know how their generous gifts are making a difference in the lives of many.

“Though the Miter Society’s focus is on those who are able to give in a more significant way, it is our hope that it will also serve to motivate others, who are in a position to do so, to increase their giving to the United Catholic Appeal.”

The annual Mass is one way to show gratitude to the Miter Society. Members also receive periodic pastoral letters from the archbishop and are assured of his prayers. Some members participate in an annual day of prayer or a tour of a home mission site that has benefited from their gifts.

But the Mass was not a chance for people to sit in the warm glow of their recent generosity. Although they received thanks from the archbishop, more importantly, the members of the Miter Society received solid advice on how to truly live a life of charity.

“[Pope Benedict XVI] tells us that our obligation as a Church to do works of charity is inseparable from our duty to proclaim God’s word and to celebrate the sacraments,” Archbishop Buechlein said.

Further quoting the Holy Father, he said, “ ‘People who pray are not wasting their time even though the situation appears desperate and seems to call for action alone. Piety does not undermine the struggle against the poverty of our neighbors, however extreme.’ ”

Prayer, in reality, is one thing we need for God to turn our weakness into his strength, Archbishop Buechlein said.

Looking to Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, the archbishop shared some of her humbling words: “ ‘I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do.’

“She said, ‘Sometimes I feel so helpless and so weak. I think this is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on him 24 hours a day.’ ”

Our prayer doesn’t have to be complicated, the archbishop said. It can be— ideally—as simple as silence.

At the reception after the Mass, Archbishop Buechlein turned to the example of those who have gone before us. He marveled at the tremendous sacrifices that St. Theodora Guérin made to build a foundation for education in Indiana.

“If you take one thing from the life of St. Theodora, it’s that we need to place our complete trust in God’s Providence,” he said. “If we do that, the Lord will give us what we need.

“We can find that same focus on prayer and absolute trust if we study the life of our first bishop, Servant of God Simon Bruté.

“When the archdiocese conducts its capital campaigns,” he said, “it is always with the emphasis that we never lose sight of keeping what we are doing rooted in prayer and thanksgiving toward God.”

That was exactly what the Mass on May 2 was all about: prayerfully gathering to not only give thanks for the generosity of certain individuals, but to give over to God grateful hearts for all his good gifts and to ask for the strength to continue. †