Occasionally, I watch the Rev. Joel Osteen preach from his non-denominational mega-church in Dallas. He fills this former hockey arena to capacity every Sunday. His message is completely positive, inspiring people to live their lives to the fullest based upon the foundational belief that God created us good, equips us to live positive lives, and […]
Stewardship Bulletin Reflection for the Week of Oct. 17, 2010
Luke 18:1-8 Jesus encouraged persistent prayer when he told the Parable of the Persistent Widow. While the unjust judge gave justice to the widow only because of her persistent appeals, God our Father is eager to answer our prayers in the ways best for us. However, persistence in prayer on our part is called for, […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 17, 2010
Oct. 17, 2010 – Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Exodus 17:8-13; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2; Luke 18:1-8 Whatever people reacted when they heard Jesus teaching, they never thought he was boring. Indeed, he often upset them, because he spoke in ways that overturned their conventional ideas about God and proper human behavior. […]
Msgr. P. James Costigan: Service − The Fourth Pillar of Parish Stewardship
Editor’s Note: This is the final in a five-part series by Msgr. Jim Costigan on The Pillars of Parish Stewardship. In the fifth and final installment in my series on The Pillars of Parish Stewardship — the 2004 document published by the stewardship office of the Diocese of Wichita — we take an in-depth look […]
Stewardship Bulletin Reflection for the Week of Oct. 10, 2010
Luke 17: 11-19 Naaman the Syrian and the Samaritan were both lepers, healed by the power of God even though they were foreigners. But their response of gratitude was more important than their nationalities or their disease. Gratitude is the foundation of stewardship. Our thankfulness to God for our life and our spiritual healing through […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 10, 2010
Oct. 10, 2010 − Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Kings 5:14-17; Psalm 98; 2 Timothy 2:8-13; Luke 17:11-19 What do you suppose the neighbors thought when Naaman returned from his journey to Israel with, of all things, two mule-loads of dirt? For a Syrian general to head to Israel was in itself very odd […]
Stewardship Bulletin Reflection for the Week of Oct. 3, 2010
Luke 17: 5-10 The challenge to us, to say when we’ve finished all our tasks, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do,” is not something we welcome. We’re likely to feel resentful that we don’t see an immediate reward. But we’re created by God and we have our fullest […]
Stewardship Reflections on Lectionary Readings – Oct. 3, 2010
Oct. 3, 2010 — Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14; Luke 17:5-10 Sometimes the Gospel message comes as a consolation. Sometimes it comes as a challenge. Today’s reading from Luke 17 presents us with the latter. After all, when we’ve finished a hard day at work, the […]
Fr. Dave Zimmer: Did the Apostle Paul Have a Stewardship Story?
Permanently etched in my memory is a painting done by the famous Italian artist Caravaggio of the “Conversion of St. Paul.” It is one of Caravaggio’s greatest works, telling the story that changed the face of Christianity and the Catholic Church. I have read the account of Paul’s conversion many times in the New Testament […]
Eric McArdle: A Stewardship Prayer
We often get requests from parishes for short prayers to incorporate at the end of the Prayers of the Faithful, and we think this is a good practice. Listed below is an example of a stewardship prayer you could use as-is or adjust as you see fit for your own parish. Lord, hear our prayer […]
