And yet, for most Catholics, we avoid the Holy Spirit because we don't really understand Him. The celebration of Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit (June 5) is the 3rd most important day of our year, exceeded only by Easter and Christmas. We should prepare ourselves for this great celebration.

Here is my challenge to you in these weeks leading into Pentecost: Read what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about the Holy Spirit. If you begin now it will be less than 5 minutes of reading per day. If you don't have a Catechism - buy one! It's an essential book that every Catholic should have. Buy it by clicking here (and, as always, sign up for Amazon Smile and make "Our Lady of Ransom Parish" your charity and we get a percentage of your Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you). 

Next, read the following paragraphs: 683-747, 797-801, and 1830-1841. I guarantee that by reading those few paragraphs you will learn something new about the Spirit of Love and be better equipped to deepen your personal relationship with Him.

Come Holy Spirit!

Our Financial Stewardship Commission put together the following Q&A for those who are either hesitant to switch to PushPay or who have no desire to give electronically:

Pushpay is an electronic donor management system for charities operating within the United States. It is recommended by the Archdiocese of Chicago.  

It is so easy, my 91-year-old mother can do it! It takes just a few minutes.  

1. Scan Donate QR code and open the webpage or go to the olransom.org webpage and click on the "Donate" link.
2. Enter the amount and select frequency.
3. Enter your mobile number to receive a security code via text message. If you don't have a mobile phone, click "Need Help" and then "Receive security code by voice call".
4. Enter the security code sent in text message or voice call.
5. Add a payment method (credit/debit card or checking account).
6. Click the "Schedule recurring gift" button.

Q3. Can I change or cancel my donation? 

Yes!  

1. Scan Donate QR code and open the webpage or go to the olransom.org webpage and click on the "Donate" link.
2. Select the account icon in the upper right corner and click on "Manage".
3. Enter your mobile number to receive a security code via text message. If you don't have a mobile phone, click "Need Help" and then "Receive security code by voice call".
4. Enter the security code sent in text message or voice call.
5. Scroll down to "Scheduled gifts" and click "edit" on the gift.
6. Pause, change or cancel the gift.

Q4. Is it safe and secure?

Yes. It is more secure than paying for a meal at a restaurant where you hand a waiter your credit card to go and swipe. Your information goes directly from you to the Our Lady of Ransom Pushpay account.

Q5. Do I have to remember a password?

No. Rather than using a password to verify it is you, Pushpay sends a security code to your phone every time you log in. By entering the security code, you are verifying that you are you!

Q6. Why should I give electronically?

It benefits you and the parish.

1.  No need for envelopes and checks or cash.
2.  Less overhead for the parish. No mailing envelopes. No counting money or depositing checks. Record keeping is automated. This dramatically decreases both the financial and manpower resources needed for the parish to run our collection.
3.  You have complete control and access to your donation history. No waiting or worrying about end-of-year tax letters - print them off yourself on January 1st.
4.  It is the way of the future.

As I've been mentioning the past few weeks, we need our parishioners to switch from Give Central to PushPay by today, May 20. If you haven't done so yet, please take the following steps.

1) First, click here to establish reoccurring giving in PushPay.

2) Login to your Give Central account by clicking here to cancel your reoccurring donation.

In the coming weeks, we will begin to reach out directly to those give through Give Central to get you moved over. We expect to deactivate Give Central in the near future.

A sign of transformation occurring in a parish is when there is a shift from thinking about "what the parish does for me," to "what I can do for our community." As you have seen over the past few years, we have had parishioners come forward with generous matching gifts, stepping into new leadership roles, and donating their time and talents to the betterment of our community.

That is why I again want to thank Jonathan and Paige Ciangaglione. As you may remember, they transformed our limited mobility accessibility by donating the automatic doors connecting the church to the new East parking lot. Local care facilities brought their residents to our Easter Masses solely due to the presence of that door and lot.

Jonathan and Paige have now decided to donate new automatic door operators for the main entrance to the Church. Apparently, when those electronic openers were originally installed, the automatic mechanism was not sufficient for the size and weight of our doors. Jonathan and Paige are generously fixing that problem for us. Thank you Jonathan and Paige for your kindness and investment in our community! I want to encourage everyone in our community that if you are in need of any door or related work at your business, please consider supporting their business. They can be contacted through their website by clicking here.