Stewardship

Stewardship Reflections ~~~ JEANINE'S STORY

I once saved up my money all year long so that I could go to a workshop. I was standing in the dinner line next to the workshop presenter as she stretched her arms wide and said loudly, "Ah! It's good to be alive!" That set me thinking. For her it is good to be alive. For me it is good to be alive. But what about the homeless person, sleeping tonight in a public park? What about the person diagnosed with cancer who has no health insurance? What about the family living in a tent in Haiti, the woman on the streets of Los Angeles addicted to heroin? What about the children who are starving in a refugee camp in Darfur, and the mothers who cannot feed them? Just what does it mean when you say it's good to be alive? I do not intend to be self-righteous. I happen to be a middle-class person with many blessings in life. What I wish is that everyone could have what I do. This is naïve, I suppose. Idealistic, certainly. And what, after all, do I propose to do about it? Where is my plan, my solution to the poverty and hunger that plague the majority of the world's population? I am not arrogant enough to propose a solution. Others smarter, wiser, more politically savvy, have proposed solutions since the beginning of time. I only know I cannot wish idly for others to have a better life. I must try to work for it in whatever ways I can; otherwise my gratitude becomes meaningless. I will have closed the door on the better part of my Christianity and my humanity, cut off from the love, learning, and pain that are essential to living, trapped in complacency. Then I am very poor indeed.

Living Stewardship Now

Parishes are full of opportunities for you to offer service to fellow parishioners. Local charities have many openings for volunteers. Give some of your time and ability to serve people in the community. Financial donations are welcome everywhere!
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Stewardship Reflections ~~~ HEARING AID

These days the word "obedience" has fallen on hard times. To most people it means surrendering control over actions and behavior. However, the English word "obedience" comes from the Latin obaudire, which means "to listen well." Let's face it, many of us have an unconscious aversion to others. We want to be around them, but not get too familiar. We put up emotional fences because we fear we will be controlled or threatened by them, or that we will somehow be personally diminished. But is it true that committed relationships limit our growth and personalities when we live and work closely with other people in a marriage, a family, a parish, or community? God calls every one of us into being and created us to grow into our full potential only in communion with others. Yet how do we do this? How do we avoid the pitfalls of isolation on the one hand and abusive, destructive relationships on the other? Are we deprived when we sacrifice for the sake of others? We begin by learning to repent and to obey. The English word "repent" in scripture translates the Greek word metanoia, or "change one's mind (or heart)." In the scriptures, repentance and true obedience go hand in hand. We must "listen responsibly" to hear the word of repentance. Through repentance we learn our limitations as well as our strengths. Listening also requires responsible action. In a family or a parish or other church organization, wonderful, blessed things can happen when each and every person listens and responds appropriately to what is asked of them. Truly, God is in the midst of such a place, and there are no limits to what can be done in love for God's glory and for the salvation of all humankind.

Living Stewardship Now

Make a consistent effort to listening attentively--to God in prayer and during Mass, to people in conversations. Consider carefully what response is being asked of you; then put it into action.