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“For everything is from you, and we only give you what we have received from you”
1 Chronicles 29:16-16 Philosophy of Stewardship
All is a gift from God: everything we are and have is freely given for our good. This truth is basic to our faith and is often repeated throughout Scripture. Just as basic and repeated is another truth: we should return a portion of those goods (our time, talent and treasure) to God and His work through the Church in gratitude for His abundant generosity.
Stewardship A Way of Life
That is the basis for Stewardship. Stewardship is neither a secular term nor a code word for fund-raising. It is the way of life—the wise use of all that we are and what we have, knowing that what we are and what we are becoming comes from God. He is the creator of our world. He has called us to be co-creators in the use of the gifts He has given us an to be responsible in the way we use those gifts.
God has made us for his glory. He has given us new life—His love—through His Son, Jesus Christ. In that love he empowers us through the Holy Spirit to reach out and look for the needs of one another and to build His kingdom among us, His family, the Church. God will one day ask us to give an account for the stewardship of time, talent and treasure that He has entrusted to us.
Stewardship starts not with the need of the parish, no matter how important these are, but with the personal need of each one of us to return to God a truly grateful portion of our time, talent and treasure in thanksgiving for all the blessings He gives us.
Stewardship of finance, for example, says that more important than the material need of the parish is the need of the giver to give.
 A life of stewardship is a way of saying we belong to the Lord and one another.
It is:
- An Act of Faith: we profess that we belong to God and all that we possess is His.
- An Act of Trust: we place our life in God’s loving hands and make Him our treasure.
- An Act of Worship: we adore Him as the giver of all good gifts.
- An Act of Belonging: we unite our offering with the rest of our parish family so that together we might care for the need of one another.
A thankful portion must be the first portion. Jesus told us to seek first His Kingdom and everything else will be added unto us. When we decide that the first part of our stewardship belongs to God and to His poor, we are making a faith decision. We are trusting that what is life over after we have given God His share will be enough for us and our family.
Stewardship Prayer
O God
our Creator and Giver
of all that we are
and all that we have,
help us to realize
it is not riches
or fame
or power
that gives life meaning.
Rather it is generosity
and service to You
that brings fulfillment.
May we reflect our Love
for You
by providing for the needs
of our sisters and brothers.
We ask this
Through Christ Our Lord
Amen
St. Anthony, pray for us
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Stewardship Commitment Renewal
Step 1—Pray
We each must prayerfully consider our role in the world today. We must pray for the guidance and the wisdom to discern between the wants and the need of our Life. We must ask God for the strength to seriously question our priorities. Change is not easy and neither is sacrifice. To do both is especially difficult.
Step 2—Determine your Stewardship
Commitment
We must determine the sacrificial giving we will do enable us to continue to “Spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all God’s people by word and action.
Step 3—Make a Decision
Follow the plan of action, fill out a
Stewardship Commitment card, and bring your gifts to the altar.
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