CHARLOTTE — Catholic financial planning? Sounds like an oxymoron when the goal of growing wealth doesn’t necessarily match up with faith practices.
Catholic author and retired financial professional Dan Gallagher tackles tips for financial planning from a faith-based perspective in a new book “The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning.”
“There’s a perception that financial planning is about maximizing your wealth, which isn’t a Catholic value,” Gallagher says. “But there’s a moral aspect of financial planning, too.”
Gallagher, a parishioner of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte, writes fictional and narrative nonfiction. His other works include a novel, short stories and Catholic letters. Gallagher has four faith-based short stories scheduled to be published by Millhaven Press this year, and his fiction work consistently calls readers to consider the things of God.
“The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning” is perhaps the only such book with a Catholic perspective, he says. After three decades in the field, he offers bias- and agenda-free advice and the book carries the Catholic Writers Guild’s Seal of Approval.
The book’s “Catholic perspective is subtle, but appears at crucial and edifying points,” he says. “A fifth of the book is comprised of 30 dramatic but true tales of client triumph and tragedy.”
Through this book, Gallagher says he wants to help people from a wide range of economic means and situations, persuading them to consider proper stewardship and attitudes toward money.
“Money decisions almost always have a moral dimension and a relationships dimension,” he says. “Which is why this type of book from a Catholic perspective is needed.”
The book empowers readers to meet obligations to self, family, charity and posterity, Gallagher says.
By using a secular publisher, Gallagher says he hopes to reach people of all faiths, not just Catholics, to consider matters such as healthcare power of attorney versus living wills, charitable giving and tithing, the responsibility to share one’s resources and not hoard wealth, and preserving family relationships through thoughtful money decisions including disability planning.
“The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning” sheds light on “poorly knowns” that consumers and professionals alike need to understand, he says. It enables Catholics to better their understanding of these issues and realize the merit of managing their finances as they would any other blessing or talent from God.
Gallagher says he has been influenced by secular financial writers and his work incorporates a Catholic conscience.
“My true love is writing fiction. I feel like I can reach people more emotionally that way, and it sticks,” he says.
“They remember what I’m trying to convey. I’m not necessarily trying to teach someone something about morals or the Bible or whatever. I’m trying to coach them to consider doing something that’s wholesome and good, and incorporate that into their lives or their philosophy.”
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter
More online
At www.authordan.com: Learn more about Dan Gallagher and read more of his work, including his latest book, “The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning”
Order “The Secrets of Successful Financial Planning” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2H5nWAW
MONROE — One of the Diocese of Charlotte’s youngest priests has an interest in a very old subject: heraldry.
Father Cory Catron’s interest in heraldic art and coats of arms began in college, and in the two years since his ordination, he has devoted more time to this endeavor – even designing coats of arms for parishes and clergy.
Heraldry is the systematic use of hereditary devices centered on a shield. The first known heraldic shield dates to the 12th century, and it has been linked to Church history since the 13th century. At first limited to high-ranking knights and noblemen, a personal coat of arms has usually been a mark of honor linked to social status, but now anyone can have one.
Pictured: Father Cory Catron, parochial vicar of Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Monroe, displays some of the coat of arms designs that he and Billy Griffith have developed over the past few years for parishes and priests of the Diocese of Charlotte. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Herald)
The rules and symbols used in heraldry continue to develop, and there’s more to it than just a shield or a motto, Father Catron explains.
“There are standards in heraldry, but then there is a lot of freedom in how you apply it. It’s almost like Church teaching. There’s a box within which we are talking about the truth, but you can talk about it however you want,” he says.
But some rules must be followed, he points out, and there is a logic as to how the colors and images are laid out in the design.
“The most important rule is the color rule. The rule is that color can never go on color and metal can never go on metal. Metal is gold or silver, yellow or white. The reason for that is heraldry originated by identifying people on the battlefield. There has to be contrast.”
In Church heraldry, militaristic images are typically avoided, but there are times when it may be appropriate – say if St. Paul were being referenced, or St. George was a patron saint.
Priests, bishops, archbishops, cardinals and even the pope have personal coats of arms, each with different symbols denoting their ecclesial rank: two black tassels on an ecclesiastical hat (also known as a galero) for a priest, 15 red tassels on a galero for a cardinal. Religious symbols including the cross, a fleur-de-lis representing Mary, and symbols of their office such as a mitre and crozier all appear on clergy’s coats of arms.
Over the past two years, Father Catron has drafted approximately 13 coats of arms. Most of them have been completely developed with the assistance of Billy Griffith, who has lent his graphic art talents which he regularly uses in his job in the diocese’s Education Vicariate office.
Father Catron and Griffith collaborate on the final designs of the coats of arms, and Griffith completes the design using a computer program to produce a high-resolution image that can be used for a variety of purposes.
“Designing for parishes is easy,” he says. “For a parish design I look at three things: the patron saint, the church’s location and its history.”
Father Catron and Griffith have created designs for Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Monroe, where the priest serves as parochial vicar, as well as parishes in Charlotte, Huntersville and western North Carolina.
“Designing for priests is harder,” Father Catron says. “I ask them what are the first seven things you want people to know about you.”
He takes their lists of ideas and incorporates symbols into a cohesive design that’s personal and meaningful for that person.
Heraldry is a language of symbols, and for Church heraldry, a lot can be packed into what appears to be a simple design. That makes heraldry a lot like Jesus’ parables, Father Catron thinks.
“When we look at Jesus’ parables He is talking to His immediate audience. He is also talking to the Church through the ages. What does He have to say to His immediate listeners? To His Church throughout all time?”
That is what a coat of arms does as well, he says. It speaks of the person or parish as they are at present, preserving their message for the future.
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter
More online
Try it yourself: Thanks to free online heraldry creation websites, anyone who has an interest in creating a coat of arms can give it a try. Sites such as www.drawshield.net are a fun place to start.
At www.theheraldrysociety.com: Find out more about the history of heraldry
