What is Stewardship?

"The promotion of the practice of stewardship is important for the mission of the Church and for the spiritual well-being of each individual Christian. Everyone benefits from the sacrificial gift one makes of his time, talent and treasure. Therefore, please accept my encouragement for your efforts and my prayers that your upcoming conference will be a stimulus to the practice of stewardship in the Church." — His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

"A Christian steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord." -- USCCB Pastoral Letter on Stewardship: “A Disciple’s Response"

Articles Written (Click on article title to read)
An Invitation to Help Change the World - Issued by USCCB, November 12, 2003 Copyright © 2003, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
What is Stewardship? - Author Unknown
Principles of Catholic Stewardship of Time, Talents and Treasure - Catholic Community Foundation of the Diocese of Phoenix

An Invitation to Help Change the World
This is a call to young adults everywhere to renew the face of the Earth. This is a call to listen to the voice of the Spirit speaking of gratitude and responsibility. This is an invitation to Catholic stewardship.

What Is Catholic Stewardship?
Stewardship is not simply making donations or taking care of the building and grounds.
It is a spirituality—hence a way of life—made of four parts:

Receiving the gifts of God with gratitude
Cultivating them responsibly
Sharing them lovingly in justice with others
Standing before the Lord in a spirit of accountability

It is up to you to determine how you will live out this stewardship way of life. You will not be alone, however. Millions of fellow Catholics are traveling together with you.

The Gifts of God
Think of God's gifts in broader terms, not simply the material goods or security you may enjoy. These are gifts, too:

Your faith, hope, love, and joy
Your family love and relationships with others
Your intelligence, talents, and skills
Your imagination, compassion, and vision
Creation in all its splendor

Our Catholic tradition teaches us that with so many blessings come great challenges. At all times in our lives, we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to share what we have been given.

Jesus Is the Steward
It begins with remembering our Baptism, when we became followers of Jesus Christ. From this call flows the commitment to Christ that makes stewardship possible—and deeply rewarding. However, this is a commitment to a lifetime of action, and it requires sacrifice.

Through following Christ, we have the benefit of the role model of sacrifice for the greater good, a model of self-giving and loving service.

Hearing and Responding to the Call
Everyone has a calling, which is another way of saying that your walk with God is personal. When you hear the call to gratitude and responsibility—in your friendships and family, in your work, wherever you go—then taking the next step to answer that call is where Catholic stewardship may be clearly seen.

And in our faith, that response happens in a wonderfully rich, vibrant community of diverse and talented individuals. We are all encouraged to consider responding generously to God's call to a priestly or religious vocation, as well as to the single or married life.

What Does a Catholic Steward Look Like?
Catholic stewards take care of the world around us, including embracing the social teaching of the Church.

We work as partners with God in the redemption of the world.
We respect human life and dignity.
We protect the natural environment.
We share our gifts (time, talents, and treasures) with others.
We communicate our enthusiasm.

For your own development as a Catholic steward, it helps to spend time in prayer and reflection to recognize your gifts from God. Then discover how best to use those gifts for the benefit of others—and of course, invite others to discern and share their gifts, too.

The Challenges and Rewards of Stewardship
It is an incredible challenge to live in imitation of the life of Christ. We all face obstacles, opportunities, and challenges, living in a fast-paced environment with many responsibilities. Our spiritual hunger does not always get a chance to be nourished through prayer and action.

However, a clear sense of purpose—nourished by the Eucharist and our rich Catholic tradition—opens the door for us to actively commit to a life of gratitude and responsibility; to thank God for his endless gifts, and then to decide what we can do to help the world. The rewards include:

Making a difference in people's lives
Becoming an active member of a fulfilling Catholic community
Discovering talents inside you, waiting to be used
Letting go of your worries and setting realistic goals in both your spiritual and secular life
Experiencing the amazing increase in God's presence that comes with a partnership with the Lord

Reflection Questions

What resources, talents, and abilities has God given me? Do I use them in service to others? How might I take the next step to become a more effective steward?
What qualities in the life of Jesus provide a model for living and an example of good stewardship? How might they compare to my own life and lived experience?
If I am to work to be an effective Christian steward, with the help of God's grace, what will it cost me in terms of personal sacrifice and hardship? Am I willing to take the next step?
How am I reaching out to invite others to recognize their gifts?
What opportunities do I provide for them to employ those gifts for the good of the community?

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What is Stewardship?
Stewardship is a complete lifestyle, a life of total accountability and responsibility acknowledging God as Creator and Owner of all. Stewardship is responsible management of our God-given resources of time, talent, and treasure. It enhances our relationships with God and one another.

Stewardship is living out a commitment to be Christ-centered rather than self-centered and involves a conversion of the heart. Stewardship is a lifelong journey with each person at a different place on the path.Stewardship is not just a program, a fund-raising scheme, or about money and donations. But stewardship can have some programmatic elements. For example, every year parishes teaching the stewardship way of life will have an annual renewal or pledge. This opportunity allows parishioners to prayerfully discern and reflect on how much of their time, talents, and treasure they can commit to their parish and/or community over the next year.

It is essential for parishes to continually educate parishioners about stewardship, not just during the annual renewal time, but all 12 months of the year.

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Principles of Catholic Stewardship of Time, Talents and Treasure

The word "stewardship" refers to the Catholic approach to the gifts that God has bestowed upon us. Stewardship is living out a commitment to be Christ-centered rather than self-centered. Profound gratitude, justice and love become the fundamental motives for giving back to God. Everything that God has given to us is intended to serve the divine plan. Therefore, our life is to be lived in gratitude toward God. In a variety of ways, we as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, share our time, talent and treasure to build up the Church and make our world a better place. The Church needs you and God has chosen you to go out into all the world. Every Christian is to take an active part in the life of the Church and to share the gifts of salvation. Three convictions in particular underlie our understanding of stewardship.

Mature disciples make a conscious, firm decision, carried out in action, to be followers of Jesus Christ no matter the cost to themselves.
Beginning in conversion, change of mind and heart, this commitment is expressed not in a single action, nor even in a number of actions over a period of time, but in an entire way of life. It means committing one's very self to the Lord.
Stewardship is an expression of discipleship, with the power to change how we understand and live out our lives. Disciples who practice stewardship recognize God as the origin of life, the giver of freedom, the source of all they have and are and will be. They are deeply aware of the truth that "The Lord's are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it" (Psalm 24:1). They know themselves to be recipients and caretakers of God's many gifts. They are grateful for what they have received and eager to cultivate their gifts out of love for God and one another.

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