Prologue:

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

Chapter Nine:  Stewards Spend Time in Prayer

The cornerstone of any relationship—be it with God, members of our family, or with ourselves, is communication.  Listening and responding are the two ingredients in our attempt to share thoughts and feelings and dreams.  Prayer is communication; prayer is listening and responding; prayer is fostering our relationship with God.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray.  The Lord’s response was the great prayer of the “Our Father”.  In this prayer we focus on God’s name, God’s will, and God’s kingdom.  We also ask for daily bread, forgiveness of sin, and freedom from evil and temptation.

Stewardship, which is a disciple’s response to God’s generosity, involves prayer, service and sharing.  We should begin by focusing our life in Christ.  It is in prayer that Jesus speaks to our heart and calls us to serve and to share. 

Prayer is essentially paying loving attention to the smallest detail.  If we are truly aware of creation and have lots of love in our hearts, we are going to encounter the living and true God.  Stewards pay attention; stewards are people who love.  Stewards recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of all that they have and are.  Stewards respond with deep gratitude.  Stewards ground their lives in adoration, communion, and cooperation with the Lord.  This is a life of prayer; it is a whole way of life.

(Taken from “”Stewards Spend Time in Prayer” 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.”  Consider sharing your gifts of prayer, service, and sharing with our St. Matthew community.  (To be continued next week….) [Top]