News - Stewardship is … RSS Feed

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!  

Have you ever driven up to the drive-thru window only to find out that the person in front of you paid for your order? What a fun surprise! Did you pay it forward and pay for the person behind you? 

Eight years ago I moved my oldest child into college. As we drove to Mass that weekend, one of my younger children asked me, “Mom, does she have to pay the bill to St. Michael (Parish) now that she is going to Mass in Auburn?” I was confused and asked what she was talking about. She continued and said, “you know, the bill you and dad put in the basket at Mass each week.” My heart sunk as I realized I had failed. I am the executive director of Stewardship and Development for our archdiocese and I had clearly failed to teach my own child about stewardship. 

 In my position, I am blessed to observe the amazing results of stewardship in action every day. Our archdiocese is filled with countless examples of faithful stewards answering God’s call to give back the time, talent and treasure that He so generously entrusted to us.   

"Two cups of flower, 2 cups of sugar, 2 sticks of butter…" Measuring the perfect portions of each ingredient is critical to baking the perfect cake. Likewise, it is our responsibility to use wisely our God given gifts of time, talent and treasure in our life to be a good and faithful steward. 

Are you taking a vacation this summer? Many of us set aside time in the summer to explore new places or travel to familiar places to visit family and friends. Whether you are going on a road trip, flying across the globe, or cruising the seas; traveling is a fun adventure and presents great opportunities for us as Christian disciples to answer God’s call to be a good steward. 

Spring is graduation and awards ceremony season. These are such exciting times, and we should all be proud of our young people’s accomplishments. It is not easy to watch our young people complete one chapter of their life and spread their wings into another. This is a time when we feel all the emotions; happy for their successes, sad to see them move away, excited to see the path God will lead them down next.

If we are doing our best to listen attentively at Mass, there is typically a word or phrase that speaks to us in every homily. Recently, one of the phrases that has spoken to me is that we should live every day with an “attitude of gratitude.”