Prologue:

    This is the sixth 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 Six: Stewardship of Sharing

    “The budget is a moral document” (Jim Wallis).  How we earn and spend money is both a highly personal issue as well as a social concern.  Having access to someone’s checkbook is also having access to that person’s value system.  “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”  Matthew 6:21.

    Stewards are generous people.  Again, they have a grateful heart realizing that all gifts come from the Lord.  They feel an obligation to return a portion (be it 3%, 6%, 10%, 20%) to the Church and other charities.  They refuse to be co-opted by a culture of greed and live a life of hoarding.  A tough question has to be asked: can a person claim to be a disciple of the Lord if they are not sharing generously of their financial resources?

    A strange phenomenon happens in the stewardship world.  The greater the generosity and the greater the sacrifice, the greater the joy.  Joy, according to some authors, is impossible without generosity.  And as one author states, joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.

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

    We are invited to prayerfully reflect on our Stewardship as an expression of our discipleship. 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.”  In the coming weeks, we will be asked to renew our financial commitment to the parish as another means of sharing with our St. Matthew community. (To be continued next week….) [Top]