Stewardship
October 27, 2024
Jesus Christ: the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
In reference to helping his parishioners grow in holiness, a good priest friend of mine says, “I can’t make anyone do anything, all I can do is offer.” He’s right. With that said, my priest friend’s statement would be more accurate if it was: “while I can’t make anyone do anything, God has entrusted me with the responsibility to try to help people grow in holiness.” If you know me at all, then you know this is something I take to heart.
I want you in heaven. I also want your loved ones in heaven. In order for the latter to happen, we need to work on being holy, for others are affected by our example for good or ill. Perhaps you’ve heard this saying: “Give me a holy priest, and I’ll show you devout parishioners; give me a devout priest, and I’ll show you good parishioners; give me a good priest, and I’ll show you so-so parishioners; give me a so-so priest, and I’ll show you bad parishioners; give me a bad priest, and he’ll show his parishioners the way to hell.” To be fair, those statements apply to all of us: “Give me a holy spouse and I’ll show you . . .; Give me holy parents and I’ll show you . . .; Give me holy grandparents and I’ll show you . . .; Give me a holy parishioner and I’ll show you . . .” What each of us do with our lives has a profound impact on our relationship with God—and the relationship others have with God—whether we can see it or not.
Serving God through His Church with our time, talent, and treasure is a blessing and responsibility that Jesus Christ has bestowed upon each of us. The blessing is in our own sanctification: we receive in the measure we give: there is no greater joy than communion with God and eternal life with Him. The opposite is true too: there is no greater misery than separation from God, especially in the life to come.
To those of you who are good stewards of Our Lord’s Church—thank you so much. Your sacrifices are doing you and others more good than you realize.
You and I were made to be saints, for Jesus says, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48). One day when we get to heaven, if not before, we will be saints. Yet many will not make it to heaven if people like us don’t do what we can to share our faith through our time, talent, and treasure in this life. That’s not an exaggeration. In heaven we will be made aware of all the souls that made it there because of the sacrifices we made for our faith and the Church in this life. Likewise, we will be made aware of all the souls who didn’t make it (potentially our own) because of our poor example and lack of effort. If God is our highest priority, and He should be, then shouldn’t our day planners, calendars and checkbooks reflect that?
Stewardship is the practice of considering and treating all things on earth, including one’s own life (time, talent, and treasure) as belonging to God, and oneself as the manager or ‘steward’ of all that belongs to God (Mt 25:14-30, Lk 12:42-48 & 16:1-13, 1Cor 4:1-2, 1Pt 4:10). God gifts us (not the other way around) with the stewardship of His Church for His greater glory and the salvation of souls. And this is a precious gift that we can only take advantage of in this life, not in the one to come.
If you are registered at Holy Redeemer, St. Thomas Aquinas, or Our Lady Star of the Sea, you received a letter this week introducing you to this year’s annual stewardship drive. Please take the time to read it and fill out the stewardship brochure. It takes all of us contributing to make Our Lord’s Kingdom a reality here and now.
If you haven’t done so already through the mailing we sent you at your home, take time now to commit to being a steward of the faith by going to our website and clicking on the Stewardship button, or fill out the brochure we sent you in the mail or in the pews by scanning the QR code and sending it in. Please prayerfully consider committing to at least one thing. More is better, yet commit to at least one thing. Whatever you commit too, it will help you and others grow in their walk with the Lord.
Of course, stewardship is also about tithing. The Church would simply cease to exist without our financial sacrifices. Money manager Dave Ramsey says, “Tithing was created for our benefit. It exists to teach us how to keep God first in our lives and how to be unselfish people. Unselfish people make better husbands, wives, [parents], friends, relatives, employees and employers. God is trying to teach us how to prosper over time” (https://www.ramseysolutions.com/budgeting/daves-advice-on-tithing-and-giving).
Prosper into eternity, and help others while you’re at it. God has given us everything, and is so generous that he lets us keep 90%. Yet, 10% belongs to him. Please remember to continue moving toward Our Lord’s expectation of a 10% tithe of your annual income to His Church: 5% to our parish, 1% to the Annual Catholic Appeal, and 4% to other Catholic charities. If you are not already at a 10% tithe, then take a 1% step this year toward that goal; for example: if you’re currently giving only 1% of your annual income to the Church, commit to increase that to 2%, if 9% then 10%, etc. We receive in the measure we give. Trust God. He will take care of you.
Again, I want to thank all of you who do give in so many meaningful ways. The varied ministries between our three communities attest to the sacrifices that many of you have already made for so many. It is because of your sacrifices that we have been able to grow our opportunities for discipleship. Please renew your commitment to the stewardship of the Church and Holy Redeemer, St. Thomas Aquinas, and Our Lady Star of the Sea by volunteering your time, talent, and treasure; and continue to grow in your faith and to help others grow in theirs. I thank you for your continued stewardship of our local Church and the Church at large.
May Almighty God Bless You,
Fr. Thomas Nathe
