According to the recent study, Unleashing Catholic Generosity: Explaining the Catholic Giving Gap in the United States, the University of Notre Dame Institute for Church Life states that American Catholics are less likely than the rest of the population to report giving 10 percent, with only one in six Catholics even doing that. Talk about […]
Eric McArdle: Limited Spots Remain for Upcoming Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference
Time is running out to register for our next Msgr. McGread Stewardship Conference, which will be held August 21-22 at the Diocese of Wichita’s Spiritual Life Center in Wichita, Kansas. A limited number of spots are still available, and I invite you to sign up now before it’s too late. At this conference, we bring […]
Eric McArdle: Pope Francis Wants Catholics to “Open Door to Faith”
I’d like to share a special post with you today. It’s from the Vatican Radio website with a summary of Pope Francis’ homily this morning. Pope Francis’ focus on hospitality ties in directly to stewardship, and asks us to “open the door” to faith and invite all with whom we are connected to become more […]
Eric McArdle: Practical Parish Tips — The Weekly Bulletin and Stewardship
In a misguided effort to increase financial giving, many parishes have a stewardship section in their bulletins that only has detailed information on — you guessed it — the parish finances. Below is a prime example I recently came across. This “stewardship” report, unfortunately, is typical in parishes throughout the country. So, if this example […]
Eric McArdle: Ask An Expert
From where does your faith education and formation come? Maybe it’s from listening attentively to the homily at Mass each week. Maybe it’s from reading about the lives of the saints. Or, maybe it’s by participating in a prayer group. Whatever you do to enrich your faith formation and to draw closer to Christ, it’s […]
Eric McArdle: Practical Parish Tips — Your Parish’s Stewardship Mission
I recently ran across a parish’s stewardship council mission statement that read as follows: “The primary mission of the Stewardship Ministry is to promote parishioner involvement of Time, Talent, and Treasure to serve the needs of the parish.” This is possibly one of the worst mission statements for any stewardship effort I have ever seen, […]
Eric McArdle: Losing Our Way
Everyone has good days and bad days. It’s a part of the natural cycle and rhythm of life. When things are difficult and when daily burdens become chronic, however, it can be easy to lose faith and stray from our path of discipleship. When we become “lost,” we lose hope and sometimes allow bitterness and […]
Eric McArdle: Msgr. Thomas McGread has gone to his Eternal Reward
With great sadness, we wanted to announce to all who follow our blog the loss of our beloved friend and mentor, Msgr. Thomas McGread, a remarkable priest and stewardship pioneer who passed away Monday evening. Msgr. McGread was instrumental in communicating the message of stewardship throughout the world, and his legacy will live on well […]
Eric McArdle: Pope Francis’ Chrism Mass Homily
On this Holy Thursday, I’ve included a link to Pope Francis’ homily at his first Chrism Mass that was celebrated at St. Peter’s in Rome earlier today. His focus is on what makes a “good” priest and calls on us, the laity, to pray for our priests. Excellent stuff. To read the full text of […]
Eric McArdle: Views from the Pews
Most Catholics who regularly attend Mass at U.S. Catholic churches say their overall satisfaction with their parish is “good” or “excellent.” This is just one of the key findings generated from a series of surveys of Catholics conducted in-pew during Mass by The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University in […]
