Stewardship is what you do after you say I believe

Stewardship is not a program,
It is a way of life

Stewardship is not an activity,
It is an attitude

Stewardship is not the latest fad,
It is rooted in Scripture

Stewardship is not a way to raise money,
It is a way to attain holiness

Stewardship is not a decision of the head,
It is a conversion of the heart

Stewardship is not an option
Not if you truly want to be a disciple of Christ

Stewardship of Time    Stewardship of Talent    Stewardship of Treasure

Stewardship of Time

Stewardship of time asks us to answer the question “are we using the time God gave us in the proper way?”

• Do I spend sufficient time in prayer? i.e.: attend Mass every Sunday or spend 15 minutes a day in personal prayer.
• Do I spend time with my family? i.e.: spend quality time with my spouse or discuss the Catholic Faith with my children, etc.
• Do I take time to nurture my relationships with friends? i.e.: keep in touch regularly or be there to offer support when needed.
• Do I give my employer all the time for which I am being paid? i.e.: arrive on time ready to work and take only the allotted break or lunch time.

God has given us 168 hours each week, how do I use those hours?

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Stewardship of Talent

Recently a very successful woman educator was speaking at a local high school communion breakfast. She started by saying that she wanted to thank the sisters who taught her, not only for the lessons taught, but also for the guidance given. One nun in particular stood out for this woman.

It seems that when she was a child, she was filled with excess energy. If she were in school today, she would most likely be diagnosed as being hyperactive and prescribed ritalin. But this was in the early 1950's. She recalled that one of her teachers told her “God gave you all this energy, now it is up to you to find out what to do with it. Just remember, always use it for good.” Her excess energy turned out to be her talent, and she has put it to good use. Working in the field of education, she has accomplished much, including founding a Catholic Charter School in Houston, TX when the diocese was forced to close its High Schools.

It isn’t always easy to know what our talents are. Sometimes what we think is an affliction can turn out to be a great talent - if we always use it for good.

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Stewardship of Treasure

Twenty-two of the 36 parables of Jesus deal with money or possessions. Nearly 15% of God’s Words deal with possessions. It’s safe to say that Jesus knows how important money and possessions are to people.

This brings us to the third “T” of Stewardship, Treasure. According to the Bible, we should return to God the first fruits of our labor. In the old testament that meant sacrificing the first of our harvest, or the finest of our livestock. Today it means giving to the church and charity a portion of our income that is determined before we take care of our obligations. Traditionally that portion has been thought of as a tithe, or 10% - right off the top.

Perhaps it would be more helpful to think of Stewardship of Treasure in terms of sacrificial giving. Sacrificial giving means making God the top priority in life, including the decision that determines the amount of money to be dropped into the weekly collection basket. To adopt a practice of sacrificial giving, follow these steps:

• First, agree to return to the Lord in gratitude a portion of everything he has given you, whether through inheritance, paychecks, investments, unexpected windfalls, an allowance, or a social Security check.
• Second, your return to the Lord must have a certain bite to it. Sacrificial giving means making a sacrifice. (Youshould give ‘til it hurts, it just hurts some sooner than others.)
• Third, get very specific about the size of your donation. Many consider the biblical norm called a “tithe” - 10 percent of one’s gross income, meaning the initial 10 pennies of every $1 earned or received. Of that 10 percent, half will go to the parish Sunday collection and the other half to people in need. The latter category includes Catholic school tuition, diocesan collections, the missions, local appeals for the needy and our own private pet charities. That second portion can be set aside and used as the situation dictates or as requests arise.

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