After technical difficulties, welcome back to your favourite stories from Corpus Christi.



I'm sure we all remember that feeling of panic and dread that creeps over us when we read in the newsletter that next week there will be another second collection for yet another worthy cause being supported by the parish.

The following little story, which I read recently, illustrates this point rather well:-

The elderly pensioner had been a parishioner at her local Catholic Church all her life. She was married there and her husband’s funeral Mass had taken place there a few years earlier. Now she was a widow, she sometimes felt a bit lonely, so she looked forward to attending Mass each Sunday morning and meeting people she knew. Like many other people, she always sat in the same seat, towards the back of the church, so that when the Mass was over, as people were leaving, they would stop and have a little chat with her, which she so enjoyed.

During the Mass the first collection was taken up and she placed some loose coins on the plate. Towards the end of Mass the Priest announced that a second collection would now be taken up. The old lady began rummaging about in the bottom of her handbag, then with horror she suddenly realised that she had no money left, with the exception of a twenty pound note, which she kept in her purse for emergencies. By now she was feeling really embarrassed and quite agitated at the thought of showing herself up by not putting anything on the plate. She made her decision and when the plate reached her, she placed her twenty pound note on the top. Fortunately, the
collector knew the old lady quite well and knew she couldn't afford to give this amount, so he gently gave her the note back and said to her with a smile, “You give enough every Sunday and besides which, God wants donations not bribes.”

We are always told, “It is better to give, than to receive.” but in this case, it was far better for the pensioner to receive than to give once again.