Thoughts on Stewardship

You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and abiding word of God  1 Peter 1:23

Stewardship is a privilege, an honor for those who are faithful followers, for those who are true believers of Jesus Christ. Within stewardship rests a call for charity, humility, obedience. Within stewardship rests a formula for being a good Catholic, a good Christian, a good human. Within stewardship rests a call to be merciful with your neighbors and yourself. Stewardship asks each one of to be gracious and merciful. Stewardship asks each one of us to be humble. Stewardship asks each one of us to share our love of God in our own unique way.

There are no time limits, there are no restrictions. There are no rules. There is only a request that you share goodness, kindness, and holiness. 

Avoid feeling pressured to do something, to say something.

The best examples of stewardship are often spontaneous, unplanned, natural. How you greet a stranger, how you answer your spouse can all be signs of stewardship in your life. I am often walking somewhere, often in a hurry to get somewhere and at those times someone will ask a question like "How do I get to Union Station from here?" or "Is the Zoo close? Am I going the right direction?" or "What's the best way to get to Georgetown from here driving?" I have any number of choices starting with ignoring the person, suggesting that they buy a map, suggesting they ask either a policeman or bus driver, or I can take the time and try to explain how to reach their destination.

Human interaction, face to face communication is becoming more and more rare as technology keeps creating new ways for us to communicate that can also keep people apart. As Christians we are asked to be vigilant, to be aware. We are asked to be active participants of our faith, active participants within our faith community. We can be observers. We can be doers. We can wait to be asked. We can ask others to help.

Being Catholic starts with an interaction between God and the individual. Being Catholic is not a membership. Being Catholic involves answering the call to love and serve the Lord. Stewardship provides an avenue to love and serve the Lord in our day to day existence. 

Although the Church wants some of your stewardship activities directed toward strengthening, nurturing of the Church community, stewardship is an act is best when done out of love, compassion, and mercy. All acts of stewardship are welcome. All acts that show the power and glory of God are necessary and good. We should do as many good deeds as possible both inside and outside of our Church community. Our deeds and words can spread our belief in God, can share our love for God.

Stewardship is a way for us to share the Good News with others, to proclaim our love for God.

Prayer, Reflection, Activity

Being Catholic is very important to me. Learning how to be a better Catholic is very important to me. Learning leads to being. Each day there is something new to learn. There are memorials, feast days, solemnities. There are saints. There are prayers. Catholicism provides its believers with a beautiful detailed tapestry of prayers, writings, and scripture to help form a God loving and God serving person. Discernment is at the center of the lives of many Catholics.

Each day I am happier than I was the previous day because I pray a little bit more, because I have compassion for more neighbor a little bit more. Each time I attend Mass I am open to learning, to experiencing a little bit more of the liturgy, to see what moves me, what makes me want to act. I am not perfect. I still sin. I have not completely embraced the idea of the confessional but I do encourage others to go and I plan to go.

I am in a state of discernment. My route involves prayer, reflection, activity. I am involved in my local parish. It is through helping others, listening to others that I am able to see a need, want to answer a call for a need.

Discernment is an ongoing process. It is not for those who want instant gratification. There are different levels of discernment. God loves us. Discernment asks us to seek a way to reflect God’s love for us in our daily lives. There are different ways to do this.

The best way begins with allowing and encouraging yourself to love God completely with your head, heart, and soul. I understand that this is harder to do than it is for me to type. It takes time. Once you allow yourself to give God priority treatment, hearing God’d voice might become a little easier. There will still be distractions and temptations. Discernment is a human activity of searching for the divine, incorporating divinity and spirituality within our lives. Hopefully discernment keeps your heart, mind, and soul active seeking fairness and social justice as taught by Christ. Hopefully discernment provides a moment for reflection of the shepherd searching for the lost sheep.

This a time of discussion. A time of reflection. In a very private way it is a time of evangelization, a time of learning and sharing the Good News. Discernment is a time of establishing a relationship with God. It is a time of prayer for each individual and their community.

There is nothing new or original in this piece. Others have written about prayer more eloquently than I have. The need for discernment, for prayer still exists. All Catholics hopefully will embrace it to form more loving, more lasting, more loyal relationships with God. Discernment is not just for vocations. I would suggest that all Catholics employ it as they plan their lives.

Humility and charity are good discernment companions. On the darkest days, in the lowest moments remember that someone is always praying for you; you will not be alone. In someone’s heart there is love and hope for your wellbeing.

The Mystery of Our Faith

The mystical aspect of being Christian pleases me, creates all types of ideas and answers. The mystery patiently asks us to both reaffirm and rediscover it in our busy modern daily lives. We must remember the birth, death, sacrifice, suffering, and life of Christ. We must remember and believe the entire package. With time we can refine and improve our understanding. But, we must work to keep the mystery fresh and alive in our hearts and minds. This will help us treat each other with more compassion and respect. We must always nurture and renew our good-fellowship as we live our lives. Our faith and belief in God provides us with a wondrous solidarity. We must remember the honor of being his humble servants. Each day of our lives can be filled with discernment, attempts to be better Christians; filled new thoughts about our vocations. One of the advantages of our situation is that we can, as it were, pray for both questions and answers. The one certainty of our lives is our belief in God’s love for each one us. We must always remember this and remember to share our love for him. We should remember to always give thanks and praise to God. As Christians we must do everything the temptation to want immediate results. We must have patience. Prayer does have an usefulness which must be remembered and treasured. A moment or two of silence may allow a profound thought or solution to enter your heart or mind. As Christians we are part of a community; we must not forget this community in our prayers or our actions. Each moment of our lives should inspire us to be more devoted humble servants of the Lord. We are all here to support and to love one another. We must share our goodness and holiness with each other. Within each of us there is both God’s bounty and God’s splendor waiting to be shared. Within each of there is part of God’s mystery to be rediscovered and renewed.

Reporting Almost Live

Last night I had the privilege of attending a birthday celebration for two distinguished, faithful men. The event had been on my calendar for weeks but I at the last minutes was feeling a little under the weather. The humidity attacked me mercilessly as I tried to complete some errands in my neighborhood. My clothes stuck to my body, perspiration circles appeared on my chest and stomach. How could I dare attend a birthday celebration when I felt so miserable.

Well, first I did all the grooming things that all the magazines near the grocery store checkouts suggest. I shaved, took a lukewarm shower, and put on clean, comfortable clothes.

I debated about whether to bring a camera and then picked up the camera bag and dashed out. At first the twilight air felt cool. Then, the humidity attacked me; I did not surrender.

Surprise parties often contain so many levels of surprise that It is difficult unraveling who is more surprised the host or the celebrated special guests.

Upon my arrival my eyes witnessed so much activity and energy that I felt like a boy of ten again at play during recess. Tables were being moved into place. Clear plastic cups with “Happy Birthday” napkins and green plastic flatware were being arranged on the tables. I could hear laughter and gentle, loving greetings. It was a room filled with hope.

There was something spontaneous in the movements, something regenerative in the words, something spiritual in this group of people. What a wonderful community was formed last night, a wonderful community of God.

In celebrating those two birthdays all birthdays were celebrated. In celebrating those two birthdays our belief in God was honored. In celebrating those two birthdays the sacrifices of others were remembered. Birthday parties are always about more than cake and presents. Birthday parties are about love, hope, faith.

It was a night of prayer, potato salad, chicken fajitas, sharing, reconnecting; it was a night of ice, soda, beans and rice, and pinatas. Glancing back it was a moment of love shared by a community of God.

Georgetown, Green River Grass

I am not a botanist. I do not know the names of most plants. I only know the most basic descriptions: tree, flower, plant.

I know which is pleasing to my eyes and which is pleasing to my imagination. Often, the trees and plants are just scenery, things in the background, noticed but not remembered.

Like all writers my imagination is always searching for metaphors, always trying to cajole syntax, always wanting to take the most simple, mundane idea and turn it into something beautiful and thought provoking. So after a long walk, my eyes were exhausted. People of various ages and sizes had been cataloged. My ears had been paying attention to automobiles with varying cacophony skills. Buildings of uniform sizes had been admired because of slight differences in stone and glass.

But, for the first time, my eyes uncovered the natural beauty of tall grass near the river. It was easy to imagine the grass as being there forever. This grass stretched and swayed toward heaven. The blades were different shades of green, different widths, and different lengths. Clumped together, although individual blades were clearly visible, this was one unified thing, one living community.

Some of the blades were bent to the left, others to the right. All around were other blades surrounding, encapsulating. How fertile it all looked! Other plants more delicate, more unique appeared amongst the blades. Fragile petals could be seen. But, this arrangement was beyond artistic, beyond beautiful. It was awe inspiring. Each blade reflected the late afternoon sunlight in an unique way. There was something serene and disciplined in this arrangement; there was something wild and chaotic in this clump of grass.

What stories did each blade have to share? What prayers did each blade remember hearing? Looking into this green community, my mind felt both patience and reverence. There was no excess, no waste. There was simply life. The realism of this particular bit of grass is remembered because of the unplanned, organic way that it was discovered. The wide river with the beautiful fascist styled bridge were the initial subjects. Looking at this grass was an afterthought. Seeing the bridge in the slightly orange, slightly gold glow of the late afternoon sun had captivated my imagination. But, the tall swaying grass impolitely sketched its image in my short term memory. Was it a still life? Was it a picture of rural life? Had my eyes seen anything like it in an art gallery or museum? Would Renoir have painted this? Or Van Gogh? How would Picaso have painted these blades of grass leaning toward heaven?

Remembering that sanctuary of playful, reverent greenness provided both questions and insight. My eyes experienced the beauty of patience. My eyes gazed at the heaven reaching green blades of grass and I was thankful. The grass is both individual and community. Personification is a good tool for examining life. Personification allows this blade of grass to be described as if it was a human being. The peaceful togetherness of the blades of grass allows me to think of universal, unconditional love as my heart and soul reaches for salvation.