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Christians are called by God to the role of the steward. Our stewardship "vocation" is therefore something that we accept and grow into, as we continue to grow in our relationship with God. Growth in stewardship means growth in our ability to see the whole of life as a sacred trust. Growth in stewardship is our developing response as whole persons to the creative activity of God as it is encountered in personal experience, in the church, and in the world. This manual emphasizes the teaching of four fundamental principles of Christian stewardship. They include:
- Praying to God with Grateful Hearts
The decision to enter more fully into a life of prayer is a deeper commitment than people realize. However, in order to be good stewards of our relationship with the Lord, we must commit our time, which should include setting aside periods for prayer, for the reading of scripture, and for full participation in the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments.
- Nurturing Our Family with Time and Love
Families have stewardship responsibilities of great importance in the domestic church, the home. Within the family, relationships must be nurtured, forgiveness and reconciliation must be presumed, and Christian values must be shared, especially in the face of pressures to conform to a sometimes hostile, secularized society.
- Sharing Our Giftedness with Parish Communion
As Christians we recognize that our gifts of talents and skills are meant to be cultivated and shared with others, beginning with our family and friends, with those whom we gather to share the Eucharist and with the world. The gift of ourselves blesses the particular community of Christians we are involved with and blesses those whom our parish hopes to touch.
- Giving Back to God the First Fruits of Our Labors
The Christian steward acknowledges with gratitude that even our material wealth and financial resources come from God. Sacrificial giving is how we as Christians describe returning the first portion of our material wealth, our financial resources, our money back to God.
"Pray always and do not lose heart" (Luke 18:1)
Prayer is the first fundamental aspect of Christian stewardship. A necessary part of the Christian disciple's vocation is to pray. Prayer makes us aware of God and opens us to God's love. Prayer gradually makes us realize our complete dependence on God. It makes us appreciate how utterly bound we are to God's grace. Prayer also makes us realize the great power we have as disciples to use our own gifts in a meaningful way.
Prayer is a Gift
The desire to pray is a gift from God. So radical is our dependence on the graciousness of the Lord that we cannot even desire to pray unless God invites us. Even the beginnings, the urges to pray, are sheer gift. Among other signs, the desire to pray is a clear sign of God's presence in our lives, for without God's presence, we could not desire God.
The Ancient Notion of Blessing
The teachings on stewardship that Moses tendered to Israel in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy did not begin with sacrificial giving or the tithe. The teaching began with the stewardship of prayer time:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon our heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise" (Deut. 6: 4-7).
The ancient and traditional notion of stewardship was intimately linked to the notion of prayer as blessing. A gift was blessed and made holy when a person acknowledged to God in prayer that God had provided it as a most purposeful and personal gift. Thus, God was prayed to and blessed for the gift. When the rain was not simply water that fell down, but God's dewing of the earth for fruitfulness so that the Hebrews might have bread and wine, then it became holy for them. But if one took it for granted and simply thought that it was a thing that occurred in course of time with no personal affection behind it, then for that person it was profane. It was unblessed.
Stewardship gives us a lifetime of progressive insight into what God has provided for us. What is sacred is what we have come to discover as God's gift. We have a life of blessing not when we receive new things but when we notice that they have been there all the time. We bless God for what we have and bless ourselves for receiving it.
Jesus and the Stewardship of Prayer
The Gospels are replete with occasions when Jesus paused from his public ministry, departed from the crowds, went off to a lonely place and prayed. After Jesus had cured Simon Peter's mother-in-law, "in the morning, a great while before day, he rose and went out to a lonely place, and there he prayed" (Mark 1:35-36). After great crowds gathered to listen to him, "he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed" (Luke 5:16). After the multiplication of the loaves, he sent the crowd away and "went into the hills to pray" (Mark 6:46). Again, before the appointment of the Twelve, "He went out into the hills to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). The work of each day was closely bound up with prayer as Jesus Christ showed us that prayer was the center of his Messianic ministry and paschal death.
The Christian Steward Makes Time to Pray
The early Christian community made a habit of constant and persevering prayer. Indeed, Luke ends his gospel story with a picture of the apostles "continually in the temple praising God" (24:53). Today's Christian emulates the early apostolic community and makes specific commitments to daily prayer, pausing during each day to glorify God. The Christian disciple's prayer is joined with that of Christ and it is the Holy Spirit who is praying with us.
Making time to pray is not only a reminder of God's divine presence, but also a means of expressing the divine life, with all that this implies about the fullness of time (kairos) and Jesus Christ drawing near and calling into our hearts. By taking time out for prayer, we are following Christ: not only learning to be his disciples, but also sharing our experience of God.
If you are already a person who spends time each day devoted to prayer, you understand why it is vitally important that those who are to be invited to Christian stewardship must first learn the fundamental importance of taking time to pray and bless God for all that we have and all that we are.
"Jesus said, 'Let us go off . . . to some place where we will be alone . . .'
So they started out in a boat by themselves to a lonely place" (Mark 6:31-32)
"Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind" (1 Peter 3:8)
The second fundamental principle of Christian stewardship is, after prayer, nurturing our family with time and love. We characterize Christian families as communities whose faith in Christ brings and keeps them together. A Christian family's existence makes sense only because Jesus and his Father are real for its family members. Similarly, we believe that the Holy Spirit refreshes the faith that brings us closer to God and to each other in family life.
Family Identity
The term, "family" brings a rich dimension to our understanding of community life: whether the reality is that of two-parent families, single parent families, childless married couples, couples whose children are grown and away from home, single and widowed persons in their extended family networks, blended families and men and women in religious communities. All of these constitute "family."
Families give us an identity in community larger than our own personal lives and our work. Thinking of ourselves as members of a family can bring a deeper consciousness of a shared life of permanent commitment. This is especially helpful in a culture today which places less value on permanent commitments to others, especially in times of hardship. Likewise, families also may bring a deeper awareness of shared work in a culture that places more importance on the self and individual pursuits.
Stewardship and the Family
As members of a family community, Christians are called to exercise good stewardship by nurturing family relationships. Christian stewardship presumes a spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation among family members. It presumes that the family will work at good communication, develop a sensitive imagination and foster loving spontaneity.
Marriage
Christian marriage is a dynamic sign of Christian stewardship because it gives witness to a public expression of deep, personal and spiritual commitment. The practice of authentic stewardship helps us to summon up a great deal of needed patience, effort, sacrifice and determination, especially during difficult times. Guided and strengthened by the exercise of faithful stewardship, marital love thrives in an atmosphere of freedom and trust, where each is allowed and encouraged to grow, to be more creative in their love, and to draw closer to God.
Parents and Children
Parents exercise stewardship over the gifts of their children, remembering that they are micro-images of God to their children, and that they are, by word and example, the first preachers of the faith for their children. They give their children a genuine sense of trust and security, making their home a safe, welcome place, and giving them a sense of shared responsibility for the family's decisions. They take time to do things together with their children as a family, and they try to be sensitive to their children's own growing preferences and skills. Parents also allow their children to make choices too, and by letting them know that as stewards themselves, they are responsible and accountable for those choices.
We are the stewards of parents, especially aging parents, encouraging them to feel confident that we consider their lives not only meaningful but sacred.
Outside the Family
The Christian family looks beyond its immediate circle to reach out in love to others who come into their lives, as much as is practical, rather than become selfishly absorbed in only their relationship. Stewardship also calls the family to be aware of the needs of their neighborhood, the poor and underprivileged in their area and the outside world. Stewardship encourages families to develop a Christian world-view.
The Family Reflects Christ's Presence
Could it be possible today and for the future that the Holy Spirit is working through Christian families to establish a more visible and conscious sign of Christ's presence in the world today? Indeed, the Christian family is a counter-cultural sign today. What family members face together rather than individually or alone, nurtures and even insures their commitment to the Lord and to one another.
"There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different services but the same Lord; and there are different activities but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good". (1 Cor. 12:4-7)
As St. Paul teaches, we are all endowed with unique and special gifts by the Lord. Some of us have gifts for leadership, some for healing, others for administering. Some of us have gifts for building or growing things, some for nurturing or consoling others, still others for teaching or serving as mentors. But whatever gifts we are blessed with, as Christians, we recognize that these gifts come from God. We bless these gifts and we bless the Lord for His goodness.
As Christian stewards we also recognize that our gifts are meant to be cultivated and shared with others, beginning with our family and friends, with those whom we gather to share the Eucharist, and with the world. The challenge for us is recognizing the sacredness of our gifts and acknowledging the importance of sharing them.
How Americans Spend Their Time
It has been reported that by the time the average American reaches 50 years of age, he or she will have spent a full 10 of those years in front of the television set. Other recent studies reveal sobering insights into how the average American chooses to spend the forty hours of "free" time he or she has each week
| 1. Television viewing |
12 hours |
| 2. Socializing and eating out |
6 hours |
| 3. Shopping and self improvement |
5 hours |
| 4. Movies and reading |
4 hours |
| 5. Hobbies |
3 hours |
| 6. Sports and exercise |
2 hours |
| 7. Religious activities and volunteering |
1 hour |
| 8. Other activities |
7 hours |
How we gather together as Christians to live, work, minister to one another and worship together is a sign of how we anticipate the coming reign of God. It also gives evidence of the third fundamental aspect of Christian stewardship: sharing our talents and skills with our parish communion. The list of activities above reveals something significant about how Americans choose to spend their time. For the Christian, re-prioritizing time in order to share our giftedness means confronting cultural values.
Participating in the Life of Our Parish
Celebrating the Eucharist means more than just attending Mass for one hour on Sunday. We are called to participate in the life of our parish communion. Christ calls us to make His presence known in concrete ways. That call requires involvement, and the gift we give of ourselves blesses the particular community of Christians we are involved with and blesses those whom our parish hopes to touch.
Christ has called us to use our gifts "to love and serve the Lord" - to be sent forth. Sharing our giftedness by actively participating in the life of our parish communion is an expression of stewardship. Christians contribute their talents in whatever way they can. A commitment to stewardship motivates us to use our gifts to serve our community of faith. If we are going to love and serve God's people and thus God, a particular place and specific group of people help assure that such service is real and responsible.
Building Up the Body of Christ
The life of a parish communion is animated by the life of God because it is the embodiment of the presence of the risen Christ. The parish further embodies the presence, fruits, and work of the Holy Spirit. In short, the parish lives a life appropriate to Christian stewardship. It is the vocation of all of us who gather together around the Eucharistic table to live lives of gratitude by serving others (diakonia), proclaiming the reign of God (kerygma) and promoting communion among ourselves (koinonia).
It is important to remember that our mission as Christians entails first going to those we know, those who share communion with us: our family, our friends, and those with whom we celebrate the Eucharist. The parish communion is where we most profoundly experience the many ways in which Jesus is made present. First and foremost our task is to build up the Body of Christ, sharing with others who also believe that Christ is risen.
Stewardship and Evangelization: Offering Hope to the World
Having entered into communion with Jesus and created community with those who know that he is present among us, we are enabled to proclaim together as one body of faith to all people that God is indeed active in the world.
"Every member of the Church is called to evangelize, and the practice of authentic Christian stewardship inevitably leads to evangelization" (Stewardship: A Disciple's Response, p. 35).
From the commitment we make to our brothers and sisters with whom we gather we are able to move in all directions and reach out to all people. The Parish Pastoral Council Guidelines and Handbook teach:
For most of us, an important way we experience communion and mission is in our respective parishes. It is there that we hear God's Word and are nourished by the Eucharist so that we can live the reality of our communion with God and each other. In the Parish setting we experience power in the Eucharist. Its energy sends us forth in mission to evangelize and serve, inviting others to share our life (p. 6).
A commitment to Christian stewardship by our parish communion allows us to teach, heal, to inspire and to offer hope to the world as an expression of our faith in Jesus Christ that all we have to give comes from Him who brought us together.
"This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35).
The fourth fundamental aspect of Christian stewardship is acknowledging with gratitude that even our material wealth and financial resources come from God. The Christian steward not only recognizes the gifts of assets and income, but also commits to giving God back the very "first fruits" of these resources. This commitment is referred to as "sacrificial giving."
American Spending Priorities
Many consider Americans to live in the most profligate consumer society in the world. Consider how the average American spends his or her discretionary income. According to studies completed within the last ten years, Americans spend their discretionary income in some of the following ways:
- $44 billion a year on soft drinks
- $35 billion a year on sports activities
- $29 billion a year on diets
- $19.5 billion on state lottery tickets
- $12 billion a year on candy
- $ 8 billion a year on pets
- $5.5 billion a year on pinball machines and video games
- $3.5 billion a year on cut flowers
- $2.2 billion for church activities
- $1.5 billion on fingernails
This list is a reflection of our culture's priorities. It is a culture in which we must educate Catholics about what it means to be a Christian steward. The challenge is practicing stewardship in a culture that is not receptive to it. Our culture defines the above list of spending habits as normal. The question that challenges us is: Does the above list suggest something about our own patterns of spending?
Freedom From Consumption
Our culture encourages us to believe that we are what we consume. We are more when we have reached a higher standard. We are nothing if we remain below the standardized position of the generality of people. This is the strict law of economic growth. The capacity to consume is the essential proof of a successful life and the consumption of goods becomes a demonstration of one's own status to oneself and to society. Jesus invites his disciples to practice inward freedom from consumption. Those who aspire to embrace Christian stewardship will be compelled to renounce a preoccupation with possessions and consumption.
The wants of consumers are ever-increasing. New needs are created as soon as old needs are satisfied. Luxury goods are classified as necessary consumer goods in order to make way for new luxury goods. The targets of our own living standard are raised with the improvement of our living condition. There is now an increasing expectation of prosperity and a satisfying life. The surprising result is that, with constantly increasing real income, the average citizen feels that he or she has scarcely any means completely at his or her disposal, that he or she is really living at a minimum of existence.
But the Christian message can make something clear which is apparently not envisaged at all in the practical scale of values of the modern consumer: replacement of the compulsion to consume means freedom in regard to consumption. The Christian argument makes a case for not constructing one's happiness on the basis of consumption and prosperity alone.
But in the light of Jesus Christ it also makes sense not to always strive to have everything. This "poverty of spirit" is an inward freedom from possessions which strengthens our relationship with God. To these a promise applies: that all those who are poor in spirit will possess everything in the coming reign of God.
Putting God First
The Christian steward understands that the slavery to consumerism must be challenged by consciously deciding to give God the first fruits of our labors. Sacrificial giving is how we as Christians describe giving the first fruits of our labors back to God. It means giving the first portion of our material wealth, our financial resources, our money. Implicit in sacrificial giving is the recognition by Christian disciples that everything that we have, our time, our health, our relationships, our material possessions, our money, are gifts from God. The Holy Spirit helps us recognize the need we have in our hearts to give a portion of these gifts back to God with a generous heart.
Sacrificial giving is accomplished most concretely by giving generously to the local Church, to the parish communion, and to the community at large through charitable and civic organizations. As the bishops' pastoral states: "And parishioners must accept responsibility for their parishes and contribute generously, both money and personal service - to their programs and projects" (34).
Sacrificial Giving
After conscious decisions have been made to make prayer a daily habit, to spend time nurturing our family relationships, and giving something of ourselves to the worshiping community, it is now time to make a prayerful decision about giving back to God the first fruits of our labors, our money.
ONE: A prayerful decision - The first element of sacrificial giving is that it is a decision borne out of prayer, recognizing the Holy Spirit urging on our need to return to God the "first fruits" of the material wealth we have earned or acquired. This step means taking time out, a pause, to pray and make a deliberate decision to change our spending habits that will make God the first recipient of our income.
TWO: Deliberately planned - The second element of sacrificial giving means being responsible to budget a certain amount to give back to the Lord, taking care to account for family needs and obligations, and taking into consideration the family's resources and personal circumstances.
How much should we give? There is no magic number. But we can start with an assessment of our level of giving now. Is the proportion of our income that we give back to God the first portion? And does that portion adequately reflect our gratitude for God's generosity?
Some people use the biblical tithe of the first 10% of their income as a guideline. Many Christian thinkers in the area of stewardship recommend that we give 5% to our Church through the offertory collection, 1% to the Archdiocese and 4% to other charities that serve the poor and needy and support the common good in our communities.
The chart on the next page will give you an idea of how total household income translates into percentages of giving to the offertory collection. Again, there is no "right" answer. Your gift is your return to God a proportion of the gifts God has given you, which you choose to share with your parish and other charities. Your decision about the amount you give will be one which makes sense and truly reflects your gratefulness to God for the gifts you have received.
"Every one shall give as they are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which God has given you" (Deut. 16:17).
THREE: Calling for sacrifice - The third element is that a commitment be made that requires us to go beyond our consumer behavior's "comfort zone." The proportion of our gift becomes sacrificial when it causes us to cut back on other spending habits. When we give out of our need, like the Gospel story of the Widow's mite, then we experience spiritual transformation.
Perhaps the most important lesson we can take from this third element is that if you can give your gift and not notice it, it is not a sacrificial gift. The element of sacrifice is present when something about your life has to change in order for you to be able to give the gift. You re-prioritize your spending habits, you re-consider your values. Then, every time you make your sacrificial gift, you are able to recall the reasons why you chose to give.
Sacrificial giving is the steward's way of following the Lord, who sacrificed everything so that we might have eternal life. We give up something of ourselves so that others can flourish. Then, we in turn, experience an even deeper relationship with Christ.
When giving becomes sacrificial, it compels us to look toward our true source of security. When we give away something we think we need to survive, we acknowledge that our material gains will not take care of us, will not save us. Only God will make us safe, and recognizing that reality helps to raise our consciousness about discipleship.
"Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7).
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