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Easter, the glorious celebration of Christ's resurrection, is a time of profound joy and renewal. Beyond the church filled with blooming lilies, family gatherings, Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies, Easter calls us to reflect on the meaning of stewardship in light of Christ's ultimate sacrifice and victory over death.

How is giving up sweets, fast food or alcohol for 40 days supposed to draw us closer to Christ? I truly believe there are no coincidences. Our Lord is intentional in all that He does. Therefore, 40 days of Lent is the ideal amount of time to make a sacrifice that will help us grow closer to Him.

"I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (John 14:34). Love is the foundation of all acts of stewardship. Jesus showed us how to be good stewards by His actions. He fed the poor, visited the imprisoned, healed the sick and so much more. Jesus taught us how to love by living the seven Corporal Works of Mercy. We are called to imitate these charitable actions in our lives.

Did you make a New Year’s resolution? Are your resolutions addressing true needs in your life? Sure, diet and exercise can help us be a better steward. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Good health enables us to use our gifts and talents to serve the Lord. That takes care of stewardship of talent, but what about time and treasure?

Merry Christmas! Advent is over, but the Christmas Season has just begun! The weeks leading up to Christmas are extremely busy. We can get so distracted with lists and parties that it is easy to lose sight of the true meaning of the Advent and Christmas seasons. In all the hustle and bustle, as good Christian stewards, we are called to keep Christ in Christmas.

Give thanks to God, bless His name” (Psalm 100:4). Thanksgiving is the one holiday where everyone across our nation, regardless of our differences, gives thanks for our many blessings. How amazing would it be if everyone lived every day of their life like it was Thanksgiving? That is precisely what a faithful Christian steward is called to do.

How can we measure success in our stewardship efforts? In today’s culture success is often assumed by our worldly possessions. However, the success of anything can only be measured if there is an end goal.

The butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker ... Just like the Parable of the Talents, we are all blessed with unique gifts and talents. To fulfill God’s plan in our lives, we are called to work together using our gifts and talents to the best of our ability. How would we function as a society if we all had the same gifts? Think of all the career paths each of us have taken, this is because we are all blessed with unique gifts.

The Seminarian Summer Gala was a beautiful display of all aspects of stewardship in action! The evening opened and closed with everyone’s gift of time in prayer. Before dinner, Mass was celebrated for all attendees by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi with Fr. Patrick Gilbreath giving the homily and seminarians serving. The talented Mr. and Mrs. Trey Krause shared their gift of music at Mass. At the end of the evening, everyone prayed the seminarian prayer together.

Where do you see stewardship in action? In my position, I am blessed to witness the amazing results of stewardship in action every day. The Archdiocese of Mobile is filled with countless examples of faithful stewards answering God’s call to give back the gifts of time, talent and treasure entrusted to us by our generous Creator.

Is everyone called to be a good steward? Yes, according to the Bible. “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). While we are all called equally to be good stewards, stewardship looks different for everyone.

Stewardship is much more than the Sermon on the Amount, a wise priest once stated. 

Do you ever feel like you are rushing through life like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland?

Jesus is risen! Alleluia! The tomb is empty, and our hearts are full! The Easter season fills us with gratitude, joy and hope. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead and gave us the greatest of all gifts—eternal salvation.  

La corresponsabilidad requiere práctica... Aprendemos desde pequeños que "la práctica hace al maestro". Vivir nuestra fe y ser buenos administradores de nuestros dones no es diferente. ¿Por qué si no nos llamaríamos "católicos practicantes"?

We learn at a young age that “practice makes perfect.”  Living our faith and being a good steward of our gifts is no different. Why else would we call ourselves “practicing Catholics?” 

Love never fails. Naturally, love is the foundation for living the life of a Christian steward. After all, stewardship is responding to God’s call to give with a loving heart. Everything we have, such as our intellectual gifts, financial resources, time and talents are all generous gifts from our loving God. We are called to share them with love.

The purpose of a New Year’s Resolution is to improve something in our life. Many New Year resolutions include diets, exercise, reducing screen time, more time in prayer, quality time with family, or saving money. All of these directly corollate with being a good steward in some way. God gives us many gifts to be a good steward of, such as: the gift of time, gift of talent and financial gifts. 

"Did you say thank you?” If you haven’t said this to a child, then you probably heard it from your parents every time you received a gift from someone. Just as we teach our children to say “thank you” when they receive a gift, God our Father calls us all to give thanks for the gifts He so generously gave us.  

Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”- Helen Keller  This quote from Helen Keller is applicable to every aspect of our life. As good Christian Stewards we know that just like every position is important in a football team, our involvement in the life of our parish and participation at Mass is equally significant. There is no I in TEAM!