Catholic Action
Insight™ Episode
Discover the Characteristics
and Purpose of Catholic Stewardship with Archbishop
Cordileone
Dear Friend,
In our newest episode of
Catholic
Action Insight™,
Archbishop Cordileone of San Francisco and I discuss the many aspects
of stewardship and how it should affect our lives. We delve into
understanding more completely the Catholic concept of stewardship and
ways in which we can practice it in our daily lives. And, the parish
fundraising aspect is only one.
While the generous use of financial
resources is one dimension of stewardship, it is by no means the only
one. Like a good steward himself, the archbishop defines the complex
term clearly and then explains how stewardship is really a
spirituality and way of life rather than an act.
Stewardship, he says, is “the
practical way to live out our Christian discipleship in the world.” In
other words, stewardship is discipleship!
The concept is rooted in the
Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 and Luke 19. It reminds us that
we are workers in the Lord’s vineyard. The Master owns all that
exists, and He parcels out gifts and responsibilities according to the
capacities of those He loves. In doing so, He draws us into the
mystery of His Kingdom.
In the ancient world a “talent” was
a unit of money, but the idea transformed over time into the innate
capacities each person’s God given nature and grace. That is the
common understanding of “talents” nowadays, and it has to do with our
Christian discipleship.
How do we use them properly? In
this short interview, you’ll hear His Excellency explain
that:
-
We as stewards who
must invest and
increase the Lord’s gifts
to us and not bury them like the worker in the parable who was rebuked
by the Master.
- The
three T’s (Time, Talent, and Treasure) are channels through which
specifically we direct our stewardship.
- Stewardship is a “spirituality of gratitude” worked out in the
context of our specific vocations.
- The
Church, the Body of Christ, uses the talents of her members to
strengthen the mission of bringing Christ’s salvation to
all.
- We work
out our own salvation in response to the Lord’s grace and increase His
Kingdom in this world by being good stewards.
We are so blessed to be “workers in
the vineyard” of the Lord! That is the essence of our responsible use
of the Lord’s gifts. As Archbishop Cordileone sees it, stewardship is
not just the generous giving of material resources,
but the generous return of everything that we give back to the Lord
from Whom we received it in the first place.
Yours in Christ and Our Lady,
Thomas J. McKenna
Founder and President
Catholic Action For Faith And Family
https://www.catholicaction.org/
P.S If you would like to help offset the
studio production costs for Catholic Action Insight™, please
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a donation. It is through our generous
supporters that we are able to enhance our ability to defend and
promote the great treasures of the Church in order to hand them on to
the next generation.
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