Prologue:

    This is the fifth in a series of articles that will be appearing in the Sunday bulletin over the next several weeks. These articles are designed to help us understand what stewardship is all about and guide us in supporting our parish through prayer, service, and sharing.

Chapter Five: Tending Your Garden

    Stewardship as a way of life based upon conversion of heart is broad in its range and demanding in its claim.  Stewardship embraces all of life and challenges us to be faithful to our calling. “Stewardship plays an important role in the lives of people who seek to follow Christ.  In particular, Christians must be stewards of their personal vocations, for it is these that show how, according to the circumstances of their individual lives, God wants them to cherish and serve a broad range of interests and concerns: life and health, along with their intellectual and spiritual well being and that of others; material goods and resources; the natural environment; the cultural heritage of humankind.” (Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Washington D.C.: United States Catholic Conference, 1993))

    Stewards are serious about identifying and developing the gifts and talents given to given to them for the sake of the community.  Poet Antonio Machado once asked: “What have you done with the garden entrusted to you?”  Using the image of a garden, we might ask ourselves the question – how well have we or are we tending the following gardens of our life:  1)  the garden of our body (physical garden), 2) the garden of family and friends (social garden), 3) the garden of the globe (ecological garden), 4) the garden of choices (moral garden), 5) the garden of our emotions (psychological garden), 6) the garden of the city and nation (political garden), 7) the garden of the “chip” (technological garden), 8) the garden of history (historical garden), 9) the garden of the mind (intellectual garden), 10) the garden of the arts (cultural garden), 11) the garden of money (economical garden), and the garden of our soul (spiritual garden).

    Obviously, these gardens overlap and intersect.  But each of them calls for a certain amount of tending and care.  Each person must decide on how we will allocate our limited time and resources in attempting to be good stewards of these many gardens.

(Taken from “Theology of Stewardship” by Bishop Robert Morneau)

    We are invited to prayerfully reflect on our commitment towards stewardship. 1 Peter 4: 10 says “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve another as good stewards of God’s varied graces.”  Consider sharing your gifts of prayer, service, and sharing with our St. Matthew community.  (To be continued next week….)  [Top]