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Good News from the Pastor's Desk
"Faith is the foundation of all the virtues." St Ambrose of Milan (339-397)
Excerpts from the United States Council Of Catholic Bishops'
Pastoral Letter, Stewardship: A Disciple's Response
THE IMAGE OF THE STEWARD
Jesus sometimes describes a disciple’s life in terms of stewardship (cf. Mt 25:14-30; Lk 12:42-48), not because being a steward is the whole of it but because this role sheds a certain light on it. An oikonomos or steward is one to whom the owner of a household turns over responsibility for caring for the property, managing affairs, making resources yield as much as possible, and sharing the resources with others. The position involves trust and accountability. A parable near the end of Matthew’s Gospel (cf. Mt 25:14-30) gives insight into Jesus’ thinking about stewards and stewardship. It is the story of “a man who was going on a journey,” and who left his wealth in silver pieces to be tended by three servants. Two of them respond wisely by investing the money and making a handsome profit. Upon returning, the master commends them warmly and rewards them richly. But the third behaves foolishly, with anxious pettiness, squirreling away the master’s wealth and earning nothing; he is rebuked and punished.
The silver pieces of this story stand for a great deal besides money. All temporal and spiritual goods are created by and come from God. That is true of everything human beings have: spiritual gifts like faith, hope, and love; talents of body and brain; cherished relationships with family and friends; material goods; the achievements of human genius and skill; the world itself. One day God will require an accounting of the use each person has made of the particular portion of these goods entrusted to him or her.
Each will be measured by the standard of his or her individual vocation. Each has received a different “sum”—a unique mix of talents, opportunities, challenges, weaknesses and strengths, potential modes of and response—on which the Master expects a return. He will judge individuals according to what they have done with what they were given.
St. Ignatius of Loyola begins his Spiritual Exercises with a classic statement of the “first principle and foundation” permeating this way of life. “Human beings,” he writes, “were created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save their souls. The other things on the face of the earth are created for them to help them in attaining the end for which they are created. Hence they are to make use of these things in as far as they help them in the attainment of their end, and they must rid themselves of them in as far as they provide a hindrance to them. . . . Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.” St. Ignatius, fervently committed to the apostolate as he was, understood that the right use of things includes and requires that they be used to serve others.
What does all this say to busy people immersed in practical affairs? Is it advice only for those whose vocations lead them to withdraw from the world? Not as Jesus sees it: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Mt 6:33).
THE STEWARD’S REWARD
People trying to live as stewards reasonably wonder what reward they will receive. This is not selfishness but an expression of Christian hope. Peter raises the question when he says to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you” (Mk 10:28). Christ’s response is more than Peter or any other disciple could reasonably hope or bargain for: There is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. (Mk 10:29-30) That is to say: Giving up means receiving more, including more responsibility as a steward; among the consequences of living this way will be persecution; and even though discipleship and stewardship set the necessary terms of Christian life in this world, they have their ultimate reward in another life.
Breaking Open the Word of God
Scripture Focus. The "beatitudes" and "woes" in today's Gospel should be looked at together because they balance one another. The poor should not be too easily identified with a social class for the poor are not just the economically poor but also the lowly and oppressed who seek God's will. On the other hand, the rich are not condemned just because they are rich. But their riches can easily make them independent, not needing God or others. And they can begin to believe that they have a right to what they own, that they don't have to notice the poor around them. We are promised happiness and fullness, but we are challenged to keep ourselves humble and our lives simple. Jesus preaches poverty because poverty forces us to trust totally in God. We have to realize that the Kingdom holds the ultimate value.
Stewardship Focus. “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.” One claim of stewardship is that God has placed in our midst all the gifts, charisms, and resources needed to meet our particular responsibilities to be Christ’s presence in our community. Accepting this claim requires trust and hope. Stewardship provides a way to support each other in recognizing that what we offer through stewardship is enough: that when what we offer is joined with what everyone else offers, great things will happen.
Life Focus: Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Discussion
1. Describe a time in your life when you felt poor or deprived.
What impact do the words of Jesus have on these feelings?
2. What are the things money can't buy?
3. How can your life be simpler? How can you depend more on God?
How can you begin to notice poor people?
4. Speak of an apparent misfortune, "bad luck" or disaster. What
was the hidden blessing?
5. Imagine yourself happy. Where are you? Who is with you?
What are you doing? What are you feeling?
Homework Corner
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"It ain't the heat, it's the humility." |
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Daily Masses in the vicinity (click on church name for map) St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, 4600 Belle Terre Pkwy, Palm Coast & St. Stephen's, SR 100, Bunnell. Click here for Mass schedule St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery, 141 Carmelite Drive (off US 1 ? S. Old Dixie Highway), Bunnell, FL. Outdoor Stations of the Cross, and Rosary Garden (20 Mysteries). Sunday, 5:00 PM; Mon.-Fri.: 7:30 ? 9:00 AM (Polish on Thu.); Sat.: 9:00 AM (Latin). St. Mary's Catholic Church (Korona; served by the Carmelites Fathers), 89 St. Mary's Place, Bunnell, FL. Click here for Mass schedule St. Anastasia Catholic Church, Anastasia, FL. North of Flagler Beach on A1A on the left.
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