St. Mary's Parish - Prince George

ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC PARISH
STEWARDSHIP

Home

Leadership & Ministry

PART 7

The following are reflections on Stewardship from the International Catholic Stewardship Council � they give a summary of what we have reflected on so far with regard to Stewardship.

Receive, Nurture, Share, Return!
�From the Bishops� Pastoral Letter on Stewardship, we find a very simple definition of stewardship. It goes something like this: Receive God�s gifts gratefully, nurture God�s gifts responsible, share God�s gifts with charity and justice, and return God�s gifts in abundance. Let us consider these four concepts:

Receive
Accept God�s gift of life on this earth
Accept and acknowledge the talents God has given you
Accept financial success and what it enables you to accomplish
Accept God�s forgiveness for our imperfection
Accept God�s help on a daily basis

Nurture
Take care of your health
Take care of your environment
Take care to use the talents you have been given
Take care to organize your time fruitfully
Take care to use your finances wisely

Share
Give time to your family, your parish, and your community
Give your talents for the good of others
Give of your worldly possessions to those in need
Give financially in proportion to what God has given you
Give encouragement so that others will live a life of stewardship

Return
Leave this earth a better place
Leave a legacy of generosity
Leave a spirit of love
Leave having used every talent to its fullest
Leave NO DOUBT that God came first in your life!
Live in Love
Live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God�(Eph.5:2)

Paul tells us to walk in love with Jesus, as Jesus loves us. Jesus died on the cross because he loves us that much. Our offerings, whatever they are, are given in love, in response to the love of Jesus for us. Our offerings are a living, tangible way of saying, �Jesus, we love you.�