Call to Stewardship: Placing our Gifts at the Altar

“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  (Matthew 22:21)  Stewardship is our faith response to God, making this remarkable Gospel message a fitting theme for this year’s Catholic Stewardship Appeal.

Jesus’ words are even more profound when we apply them to our relationship with our Church and our neighbors.  God calls each of us to nurture our gifts, use them in service for others and return them to His altar.  As stewards, we are called to be grateful, generous, accountable and, most of all, prayerful.

This Special Stewardship Issue of The Catholic Missourian is an offering that we place at the foot of the altar, asking for God’s blessings on our Diocesan and parish ministries.  We thank God for the abundance with which He has blessed us and ask for His guidance and wisdom in managing all our resources.  We pray for continued awareness that we are servant stewards working for our parish families.

As God’s stewards, each of us is called to consider the gifts with which God has graced us, and our use of them.  Through the following reflections, we are invited to pray about how we “give to God what belongs to God”:

•        “How do I choose between what I need and what I want?”

•        “Do I see God’s beauty in nature?”

•        “Do I support the Church so it can continue Jesus’ mission and ministry?”

•        “How do we spend our time, talent and treasure?”

•        “Does our lifestyle reflect God’s call to generosity?”

Over the next few months, The Catholic Missourian will be introducing our diocesan ministries to you in a much more personal fashion through a series of feature articles highlighting each office and the ways in which it assists our parish communities.  Hopefully, you will get to know a bit more about the people heading the offices and their commitment to their work. 

I thank each of you for the special gifts you bring to the altar in gratitude, service and thanksgiving to God.  May God’s blessings shine upon you, our parishes and dioceses and the ministries we provide in His service.