STEWARDSHIP
Our Way of Life
TIME
Every moment of our life - every breath, every day, every month, every year of our life - all of it is a gift from God to us. The only reason we have any time at all is because God has generously given us life and this time which we have to live. It makes sense that we would spend at least some time with the One who has been generous in giving us all this time that we have. This is what Stewardship of Time is: it is spending time with God in prayer. The good Steward realizes that all of his time is a gift from God, and so he spends some of his time with the Lord. This is what we do when we pray: we spend time lifting our eyes, our minds and our hearts to the things of eternity. In prayer we dwell closely to the Lord, we relate to Him, we speak to Him, and listen to Him. Time in prayer enables us have a real relationship with Him. Prayer is a living encounter with Jesus Christ. When we are intentional about prayer and to dedicating specific periods of time each day to pray, we grow closer to him, we come to know him truly and to know ourselves as well. St. John Paul II told us that God reveals us to ourselves. When I know Him, I then also truly know myself. In Him, I know myself as beloved. That is my identity. And from that identity I then also come to know the purpose and mission of my life.
Stewardship of time is prayer. It is the first and most necessary thing in the life of a disciple
TALENT
Every gift that we have, each talent and ability to do the things that we do well in this life, are gifts that have been freely given to us by God. A wise person works at and harnesses their gifts, strengthening their gifts and talents so that they may serve his or her own welfare and that of their family. The wise Steward recognizes the first author of his or her talents and thus puts his or her talents at the service, not only of his own household, but of the household of God, which is the Church. This is Stewardship of Talent: using my gifts to build up the Kingdom of God. One’s talents may be in gardening, singing, woodworking, financial management, sports, public speaking, teaching, construction, public safety and security, computers, medical care, communications, playing a musical instrument, cleaning, outdoor maintenance, listening, organizing, accounting, project management, caretaking, construction, cooking, management, sewing, equipment repair, plumbing, nursing, and on and on. All of these talents and others are able to be put into action to serve the One who authored these abilities within us at the moment we were created. As Disciples of Christ we are sent forth from each Mass – and we are sent out to go into the world and, just as leaven raises dough, so as leaven we are called to raise the world to God. Our talents enable us make our Church fruitful and successful. The blessings of each person’s talents are a gift to the Church.
Stewardship of Talent is active service to my Church community. It is my gifting of God’s gifts.
TREASURE
Just as each moment of our life is a gift from God, and each talent that we have is a gift from God, so also our ability to use both our time and talent to obtain gainful employment and earn money upon which to live is also the fruit of these gifts that God has given to us. The only reason any of us can earn anything in this world is because God has given us the gifts and abilities to do so. The Disciples recognizes this, and thus desires to give back to the Lord from their financial resources a meaningful measure, to see to the building up of the faith in the hearts of others in his or her community. By supporting her or his parish financially, the disciple is facilitating the building and upkeep of their Church and parish buildings, the hiring of staff to work in the Parish, the means to ensure the education of the young in the faith, and the proper growth and expansion of the Kingdom of God in his or her own community. The Church that we belong to, with all of its buildings and property and resources, is something we received for free from the generations of Catholics who went before us. Jesus said, “the good person brings good things out of a store of goodness.” (Mt 12:35) Now it is our turn to gratefully and generously foster the life of faith in our community by ensuring the preservation and passing on of these incredible blessings we have freely received.
Stewardship of Treasure is financially supporting my Church. My generosity in giving is a response to God’s generosity to