MIAMI | No pledges were collected. No appeals were made. It was, in the words of Katie Blanco-Crocquet, chief development officer and president of the archdiocese�s Development Corporation, �just a Mass.�

A Mass through which, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, Archbishop Thomas Wenski expressed his gratitude to South Florida Catholics who have consistently donated to the annual ArchBishop�s Charities and Development appeal (ABCD).

Nearly 600 donors, with families in tow, gathered at St. Mary Cathedral Nov. 18 for the ThanksFORgiving Mass which was followed by a brunch at the cathedral hall. During the Mass, three couples were honored as examples of faith, hope and charity for their contributions to their parishes and the archdiocese. A fourth couple � Michael and Helen Hart � received the Primum Regnum Dei award, the highest award bestowed by the archdiocese, for their many years of work as teachers of Natural Family Planning.

Archbishop Wenski called those present �some of the most generous people in the Archdiocese of Miami. You have supported the archdiocese in good times and in bad.�

But that support encompassed more than dollars and cents.

�It�s a lot more time and talent than treasure,� said Ruth Pyle of St. Bonaventure Parish in Davie.

�The ABCD was just part of it,� said her husband Stephen.

The couple, recipients of the One in Faith award for their example of �excellence in evangelization,� have been involved in faith formation � specifically the RCIA or Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults � for a number of years now.

�I just feel called to it by the Holy Spirit,� Ruth said.

�You�ve got the time and abilities and you�ve got the call, you�ve got to answer,� added Stephen.

�There�s so many more worthy people than we us,� said Doreen Koenig, who with her husband Keith received the One in Hope award for embodying �the four infinitives of stewardship: receives God�s gifts gratefully; nurtures God�s gifts responsibly; shares God�s gifts justly and sacrificially; and returns God�s gifts abundantly.�

The Keonigs are parishioners at St. Gregory in Plantation. Keith and his late brother Kevin founded City Furniture in 1994. In addition to becoming one of South Florida�s leading furniture retailers, the business was honored as Philanthropic Company of the Year in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties in 2005.

�We�ve been blessed and hopefully we�re setting the example for others,� said Doreen.

Paul DiMare and his wife, Swanee, parishioners at St. Hugh in Coconut Grove, received the One in Charity award for being �giving, caring, loyal and loving to their brothers and sisters in need through their constant support of the ArchBishop�s Charities and Development drive.�

The DiMares estimated they had been contributing to ABCD for at least 24 years, chiefly because they are strong supporters of Catholic education.

�It�s helped a lot of people. Some of these schools can�t survive,� said Paul.

The couple also continue to support her alma mater, Archbishop Curley Notre Dame Prep, and the school their five sons attended, Christopher Columbus High School.

�Giving is learned at a very young age,� said Paul, who grew up in Boston and attended Catholic schools there. He remembers collecting dimes for the missions in Africa and said �the best education I ever had was by nuns, all supported by the parishes� and diocesan campaigns such as the ABCD.

�I give back because I�ve been blessed,� he said. �You can�t just think of your parish. You have to think of the whole Catholic community.�

�Why not invest in people? Bottom line is that�s what it�s all about,� said Paul DeBianchi of St. John the Baptist Parish in Fort Lauderdale. He and his wife Valerie have been donating to ABCD for at least 10 years.

�You can�t keep it at home,� said Valerie, adding that she truly appreciated being thanked in the context of a Mass. �I think this was more meaningful. And that�s what we�re here for � not a party.�

�It�s going to start a tradition,� said Blanco-Crocquet, noting that Archbishop Wenski started a similar event when he was bishop of Orlando.