Fr. John LoCoco is installed as pastor of St. John Vianney, Brookfield, at a Mass with Archbishop Jeffrey S. Grob on July 27. Fr. LoCoco had served as parish administrator since August 2024. (Submitted photo).
When the offertory basket is passed during Sunday Mass, many of us instinctively reach for our wallets.
But what if this sacred moment is meant to invite more than just a financial contribution?
That question was at the heart of a talk given by Fr. John LoCoco, Pastor of St. John Vianney, Brookfield, and Judicial Vicar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, at the archdiocese’s Stewardship Workshop held July 22.
“The offertory is not about money,” he said. “It’s about the heart.”
Fr. LoCoco described the offertory as a “hinge point” in the Mass — a sacred moment between the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is when the gifts of bread and wine are brought forward, representing the first fruits of the people, and given to the priest to be offered to the Father.
Although it often coincides with the passing of the collection basket, the offertory is not simply about giving money.
“It becomes not just a moment for material generosity, but a spiritual one — an invitation to give something of ourselves,” Fr. LoCoco said.
Fr. LoCoco encouraged attendees to reengage with the offertory more intentionally. Even if one is not physically placing a gift in the basket or bringing up the offerings, each person is invited to make a spiritual offering — a personal act of self-gift to God. “What am I offering to God in this moment?” he asked. “How am I spiritually placing myself on the altar with those gifts?”
This inner act of offering, Fr. LoCoco said, draws us into deeper communion with the Lord in the Eucharist and sends us forth to carry that grace into our daily lives and relationships.
Fr. LoCoco grounded his reflection in Scripture, particularly 2 Corinthians 8:5, where St. Paul commends the Macedonian Christians for giving themselves “first to the Lord and then, by the will of God, to us.” This passage, he explained, is a powerful reminder that stewardship begins not with financial giving, but with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“Christianity is not a philosophy or ideology,” he said. “It’s a relationship with a person — Jesus. And from that relationship flows the trust and confidence needed to give sacrificially.”
He also referenced the early Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles, who shared everything and supported one another as members of the Body of Christ — not out of obligation, but as an expression of their total communion with Christ and each other.
Fr. LoCoco emphasized the biblical principle of giving the first fruits — offering to God the best and first of what we have, even before we know what will be left. It is a radical act of faith and trust, akin to the love of a parent who feeds their child before themselves.
Fr. LoCoco was one of several speakers at the Stewardship Workshop, which brought together more than 150 participants — pastors, parish leaders, staff, volunteers and parishioners — from across the archdiocese to explore how to live out their baptismal call through the stewardship of prayer, time, talent and treasure, and help others to do the same.
To ensure the workshop addressed real and relevant parish needs, a planning committee of parish and archdiocesan leaders collaborated to identify key themes. These included: mission, communication, rebuilding or refreshing a “stewardship committee” and catechesis of the offertory.
“From the start, the team agreed that there was a pressing need for a deeper understanding of the offertory — what it truly is, and what it isn’t,” said Cindy Lukowitz, Director of Stewardship with the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s Development Office.
Fr. LoCoco invited participants to move beyond a transactional view of stewardship or an event-driven mindset. True stewardship, he said, is not about responding to appeals or campaigns — it’s about investing in the ongoing life of the parish, understood not as a building, but as a community of believers. “If a church burns down, the parish still exists,” he said. “It’s the people who make up the Body of Christ.”
For this spirituality to take root, parishes must go beyond logistics and foster a culture of formation and intentionality. A few ways to do this might include incorporating regular catechesis on the offertory into homilies and faith formation programs, clearly communicating the purpose and meaning of giving, and modeling stewardship with joy and authenticity — not guilt or pressure.
“In every act of giving, the Church is called to imitate Christ, who gave everything,” Fr. LoCoco said. “And in doing so, set us free.”
