Help our parish to uphold the four pillars of stewardship: Hospitality (Christian kindness); Prayer (heart to heart with God); Formation (discover and share Christ); Service (love in action).
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Stewardship: What Does It Mean?
Characteristics of an everyday steward include being mindful, grateful, accountable, gracious, prayerful, and giving. When we think of the word stewardship, we often think of giving our time, talent, and treasure back to God for all that He does for us.
What Is a Stewardship Parish?
As a stewardship parish our focus is on upholding the four pillars of stewardship:
· Hospitality (Christian kindness)
· Prayer (heart to heart with God)
· Formation (discover and share Christ)
· Service (love in action)
How Do I Reflect These Four Pillars?
How do I “minister” in my parish, home, and community?
How do I reach out in faith to those who aren’t currently engaged in a church community?
Stewardship is just one element of the rich heritage we have in Catholic social teaching.
Which is better, being an owner or a steward? Fr. Mike reminds us of the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) as he points out how seeing ourselves as an owner is not as great as it seems. When we see ourselves as the owner of something, we hold onto it more closely for fear of losing it. When that thing is taken from us, we may become resentful.
Our lives are not our own, our bodies are not our own, our homes are not our own. Not even our children are ours. God owns all of these things, and we have done nothing to deserve them. God has entrusted them to us. If we see everything we have as a gift from God, we will always have a reason to be thankful.
In our culture, we may have been conditioned to think being owners is the American Dream, but being a steward is much better.
Stewardship: An Overview
Stewardship is a way of life, not a program. Rooted in scripture and flowing from discipleship, stewardship allows us to recognize that we, as individuals, are not owners of our lives but rather are stewards or managers. Stewardship, quite simply, is recognizing that everything we have and everything we are is a gift from God and being grateful and generous with those gifts. (Video is by the Diocese of Charleston, SC)
Personal stories of faithful stewards in our community
Andrew and Suzanne Hampson share what Catholic family life is like for them, especially when it comes to be a part of church life. It's a cheerful glimpse at what being a faithful steward in our community could be like for anyone trying to apply their faith to everyday life.
A central theme of Laudato Si is "integral ecology." By that, Pope Francismeans an approach to appreciating creation, our common home, that recognizes the interrelatedness of everything. As he asserts many times, "Everything is connected." In that light, he challenges us to adopt a "vision capable of taking into account every aspect of the global crisis."
Mother earth is God's creation –and our common home. Engaging ourselves fully in caring for our home must become part of our lives, our community, our culture. Our creator calls us daily to be ready "to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice." This should be fully woven into our weekly celebration of the Eucharist. Nothing short of that is "holy and pleasing to God."
