“As Christian stewards, we receive God's gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.”
The Bible tells us that we all have received gifts from God to use for the good of others. In 1st Peter we read:
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
We all are called to use the gifts God has given us and thus glorify God by the proper use of them. The first examples of using gifts received from God are those given to the Church by Jesus. The most obvious gifts used by the Church are the sacraments. The Church celebrates Mass every day of the week, allowing all Catholics the daily opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. The Church makes sure our children are prepared for the reception of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Couples learn about love, grace and commitment when the church prepares them for the sacrament of marriage. Adult faith formation is offered to help adults continue their spiritual growth. The Church is investing its time, talent and treasures in its people.
Parishes also have members who themselves who give time, talent and treasure to the Church. These volunteers help and support the many ministries of a church. Volunteers will share their gift of song by being part of the choir. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults will have volunteers that teach those catechumens and candidates who desire to join our faith. Churches will have volunteers that form a hospitality ministry so all visitors will feel welcomed. CCD programs will have adults who volunteer their time in both preparation and teaching of your children as they continue to grow in their faith.
Many church volunteers are in the role of teacher or as they are called by the Church, catechist. A catechist is a person that passes on our faith. The National Directory for Catechist says the call of a catechist is a vocation, an interior call, the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Church defines vocation as God’s invitation to love and serve him. By our creation we all are called to love and serve God. That love and service comes through the vocation God has given us.
How do we know we have a vocation that comes from God? It is by our baptism. The Vatican II document Constitution on the Church says:
We all are called to use the gifts God has given us and thus glorify God by the proper use of them. The first examples of using gifts received from God are those given to the Church by Jesus. The most obvious gifts used by the Church are the sacraments. The Church celebrates Mass every day of the week, allowing all Catholics the daily opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist. The Church makes sure our children are prepared for the reception of First Holy Communion and Confirmation. Couples learn about love, grace and commitment when the church prepares them for the sacrament of marriage. Adult faith formation is offered to help adults continue their spiritual growth. The Church is investing its time, talent and treasures in its people.
Parishes also have members who themselves who give time, talent and treasure to the Church. These volunteers help and support the many ministries of a church. Volunteers will share their gift of song by being part of the choir. The Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults will have volunteers that teach those catechumens and candidates who desire to join our faith. Churches will have volunteers that form a hospitality ministry so all visitors will feel welcomed. CCD programs will have adults who volunteer their time in both preparation and teaching of your children as they continue to grow in their faith.
Many church volunteers are in the role of teacher or as they are called by the Church, catechist. A catechist is a person that passes on our faith. The National Directory for Catechist says the call of a catechist is a vocation, an interior call, the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Church defines vocation as God’s invitation to love and serve him. By our creation we all are called to love and serve God. That love and service comes through the vocation God has given us.
How do we know we have a vocation that comes from God? It is by our baptism. The Vatican II document Constitution on the Church says:
“that by our baptism we are made one body with Christ. We are made sharers of the priestly, prophetical and kingly functions of Christ; and we are to carry out the mission of the whole Christian people in the Church and in the world.”
Each of us has a vocation that is given to us by God and that vocation is the sanctification of the world. The Constitution on the Church further states;
'But the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God."
If we live our lives in faithfulness to God with hope and charity our life should be a witness of Christ to others in such a way that fulfills our vocation of sanctifying the world.
Good disciples have a desire to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost. We should all strive to be good disciples because our vocation flows out of our discipleship. Our discipleship also calls us to good stewardship which is an integral part of the christian life.
The challenge, then, is to understand our role—our vocation—and to respond generously to this call from God. Our baptismal vocation will always include the practice of stewardship. In today's Gospel we hear of the rich who give from their surplus while the poor widow gives from her livelihood. Jesus is telling us that our charity must be a witness of our vocation. If we look at our own needs first, making sure our own needs and wants are fulfilled before practicing charity we are not fulfilling our baptismal vocation. Discipleship recognizes God as the giver of life and source of all gifts. As faithful disciples of God, we should be grateful for the gifts we have received and willingly share them without hesitation.
If we live our lives in faithfulness to God with hope and charity our life should be a witness of Christ to others in such a way that fulfills our vocation of sanctifying the world.
Good disciples have a desire to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost. We should all strive to be good disciples because our vocation flows out of our discipleship. Our discipleship also calls us to good stewardship which is an integral part of the christian life.
The challenge, then, is to understand our role—our vocation—and to respond generously to this call from God. Our baptismal vocation will always include the practice of stewardship. In today's Gospel we hear of the rich who give from their surplus while the poor widow gives from her livelihood. Jesus is telling us that our charity must be a witness of our vocation. If we look at our own needs first, making sure our own needs and wants are fulfilled before practicing charity we are not fulfilling our baptismal vocation. Discipleship recognizes God as the giver of life and source of all gifts. As faithful disciples of God, we should be grateful for the gifts we have received and willingly share them without hesitation.
In our first reading today, the widow was down to the last meal for both herself and her son. After this last meal, they would slowly starve to death. She gladly shares the last of her food. She does not first look at her needs, she only sees a man that is hungry. She did not first measure the cost to her before sharing the gifts God has given her. She trusted in God, had faith and shared the last of her food. Like the woman in the temple she gave from her livelihood. Her reward was food that lasted until the drought ended, over a year later.
Through our baptism, we are given a vocation that calls us to be part of the world, to go out and share God's love for all, to be good stewards of gifts he has given us. For through our works, we build up not only our world but the Kingdom of God.
There is a paragraph in a book written by St. Catherine of Sienna called Dialogue of Divine Providence that I believe sums it up best. St. Catherine of Sienna writes of a revelation from God in which God tells her:
Through our baptism, we are given a vocation that calls us to be part of the world, to go out and share God's love for all, to be good stewards of gifts he has given us. For through our works, we build up not only our world but the Kingdom of God.
There is a paragraph in a book written by St. Catherine of Sienna called Dialogue of Divine Providence that I believe sums it up best. St. Catherine of Sienna writes of a revelation from God in which God tells her:
"The same is true of many of my gifts and graces, virtues and other spiritual gifts, and those things necessary for the body and human life. I have distributed them all in such a way that no one has all of them. Thus have I given you reason – necessity, in fact – to practice mutual charity. For I could well have supplied each of you with all your needs, both spiritual and material. But I wanted to make you dependent on one another so that each of you would be my minister, dispensing the graces and gifts you have received from me. So whether you will it or not, you cannot escape the exercise of charity!"
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