Dear St. Luke Community,
We take time again this fall to examine how we live out stewardship. We can base our understanding on the Christian Stewardship framework provided by Scripture, the Church, and the examples of saints.
Scripture teaches that from the very beginning God made mankind to be good stewards of his gifts: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Jesus, too, used parables to share the way God’s kingdom works, specifically the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 that culminates with “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have in abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29). Finally, St. Paul encourages us that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
The Church through United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) defines stewardship as “safeguarding material and human resources and using them responsibly... in generous giving of time, talent, and treasure.” This includes receiving God’s gifts gratefully, cultivating them responsibly, sharing them lovingly and returning them with increase to the Lord.
Saints demonstrate lives of stewardship in a very real way. Last weekend, Pope Francis canonized Józef and Wiktoria Ulma and their seven children. The Polish family was killed by the Nazis for hiding and protecting a Jewish family in their home during WWII, recognizing their martyrdom for their love of neighbor.
God is not calling us all to martyrdom, but He is calling us to love Him through lives of stewardship. We cannot hear His individual plan for each of us unless we take time to listen to Him through prayer. Over the next few weeks, we have the opportunity to learn more about the gifts our Lord has given St. Luke through our ministries. Please pray about how He is asking you to increase stewardship in your lives. Then, carefully consider fulfilling His mission for you by contributing your time, talent and treasure with increase to St. Luke.
Our St. Luke community is one of God’s greatest gifts! Let’s be greatful for each other and all we’ve been given through thanksgiving, developing our gifts, sharing them with each other, and returning them with increase to Him.
In Christ,
Therese Hartley
Director of Evangelization and Stewardship