Stewardship As A Way of Life
Jesus calls each of us to be His disciple. We respond by living a life of stewardship. We make a choice of the heart, to put God as #1 in our life. Everything we are, everything we have, is a gift from God. We are responsible for using those gifts - time, talent, and treasure - as God calls us to serve others, in our family, our parish, our workplace, our community. We trust in God, not in possessions; we share not because someone has a need to receive but because we have a need to give, as a sign of that trust. We experience the joy that comes when we live as Jesus did: "Not my will, but Yours be done."What is a Steward? A steward is a manager. When did we become stewards? When God created human beings, He gave them dominion over all creation. He shared responsibility with us! Because of this we are also co-creators with god. What an awesome challenge!
Personally, what does this mean? It means that all my gifts, talents and resources or treasure, are a gift from God to manage properly. That's Stewardship! Every Sunday, we join our lives to that of Jesus in his one sacrifice on the Cross. That includes our time, talent and treasure.
Are we the only parish with a Stewardship emphasis? No, it has been diocesan policy since 1997. We were pacesetters many years before when we inaugurated Sacrificial Giving. Over 100 parishes are now Stewardship Parishes including St. Patrick in Natick. Soon, all parishes will be. In 1992, the American Catholic bishops asked everyone to accept the challenge. Stewardship simply broadens the Sacrificial Giving concept and places it under a biblical umbrella that's understood by all Christians.
Baptism makes us disciples of Jesus. This is what it means to be a disciple: to worship and to serve.
Gracious and loving God, help us to recognize that our talents and abilities are, in fact, gifts from you, given to bring you glory. Open our eyes to the many and diverse ways we might serve you. Amen.
