The call to care for the most vulnerable is straightforward, but that doesn’t make it simple. Americans, especially church-going Americans, face requests for donations from more charitable organizations than ever. Meanwhile, we contend with questions about how to best help those who call to us from the sidewalks or hold signs at busy intersections.

Aquinas Institute of Theology invites you to the next Aquinas Roundtable, a luncheon lecture on “Putting Your Money Where Your Faith Is.” Faculty member Fr. Tom Esselman, C.M., will talk about how we decide whom to help, and how much help is enough, at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, at Orlando Banquet and Conference Center, 8352 Watson Road.

Registration is required by April 12. Please send a $20 check to April Roundtable, Aquinas Institute of Theology, 23 S. Spring Ave., St. Louis, MO 63108. We offer $5 discounts for participants on a limited income.

Aquinas Institute is a Roman Catholic graduate school of theology affiliated with Saint Louis University. The school educates candidates for priesthood alongside vowed religious women and men, lay students seeking careers in ministry, or students simply seeking to better understand their rich faith tradition. Find out more at www.ai.edu.

Upcoming Roundtable topics include a conversation in May about Catholicism and mysticism, and one in June about health care for the uninsured. To find out more about the Aquinas Roundtable, call Dodie Nelke at 314.256.8857.