Blog & Pastor Letters

I sometimes spend more money than I should. I make decisions based upon my wants and not my needs. Those actions can create a financial difficulty or circumstance where more sacrifice is needed. Instant gratification or selfish impulses can create havoc in one’s bank account, marriage, or family. All these issues to deal with simply because I wanted what I wanted and I got it. Yes, it sounds like the actions of a child.

When I was a child, I often thought of the Church as something mystical and supernatural. I wasn’t wrong in my understanding of the Body of Christ, for surely the Church has these characteristics. However, even though we speak about the foundation of all we are as Church being the “mystery of Christ,” Jesus became a man so that supernatural element could break into the natural world in a profound way. What we once could not see, we now see. What we saw as a God in a distant place now dwelt among us. It is one of the aspects of Catholicism that I have grown to appreciate the most as I have matured: for a Catholic, the supernatural is natural. The communion of saints is heavenly and earthly at the same time.

Early on in my work in parish ministry, I had to deal with a tough human resources situation, letting some staff members go and stepping into a role that demanded more of my time and energy.

In moments like this, stewardship can feel burdensome. Things take a turn we didn’t expect, perhaps in spite of our best efforts. Maybe more is asked of us than we want or feel prepared to give.

The value of stewardship living is difficult to see unless we are experiencing that way of life for ourselves. You can read 100 Everyday Stewardship reflections and go to church every Sunday, but unless you are actively growing in faith and trying to live a life of generous stewardship, you cannot see the power of such a lifestyle. Like most things, we need direct, purposeful experiences to really understand.