Msgr. Thomas McGread

The idea of tithing is mentioned 39 times in the Old Testament and 11 times in the New Testament. Yet, often we hear Catholics complain that all their priest talks about is money. These Catholics don’t realize that the parish is not the priest’s parish, but their own parish. This is where the change of approach in these people’s lives with regard to the stewardship way of life needs to develop. They need to know that the priest really is only an instrument to help guide them along the way and to bring God into their own lives. I always … Read more

One of the things I did when I was pastor at of St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita was to give parishioners options when it came to the decision of Catholic school for their children. In 1969, we did away with tuition for both the elementary and the high school. I have always been sympathetic with parents because so often you hear that only the wealthy can afford to send their children to Catholic schools. I wanted to get rid of that whole idea. To me, the school was an integral part of the parish, and it was a mission … Read more

When I was pastor at St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita, I tried something different and decided to ask the parishioners what their needs were. Once we found out their needs, I found volunteers to help fill those needs to capacity. After I left St. Francis, there were 76 ministries, and they all were all fulfilling a special need for the parishioners. So often in the past, parishioners have been told what their needs were, whereas in reality, maybe what parishes give parishioners in terms of ministries have nothing to do with what parishioners really want. As you may know, … Read more

The only time we are really happy in this life is when we have a good relationship with God. That’s just the way God made us. He wants us all in Heaven with Him and He wants us to build a relationship with Him that is loving and free from guilt.  When we develop this kind of relationship with the Lord, we can also have that kind of relationship with each other. Since the beginning of time, we humans have tried to come up with ideas to buy our happiness. For some, it is power. For others, it is alcohol … Read more

Some people don’t think they have talents, but we all do. Everyone. For example, we can always call a neighbor, visit a sick person, counsel someone in need, or work with the disabled. We can also pray. And, we can really do all these things on our own time. It doesn’t have to be an organized effort. These talents we have been given are gifts from God, and St. Peter tells us “Put all your gifts at the service of others.”  That’s what God is telling us. Christ tells us not to light a lamp and put it under a … Read more

Why do we have to renew our stewardship commitments of time, talent and treasure? Well, we have to face the fact that we are all victims of habit. We get into a habit of doing certain things and don’t venture beyond that. And, we live in a day and age when commitments are lacking in many areas of our lives. This is one of the reasons we have divorces, because the commitment there doesn’t last for a lifetime. Whenever we get into stewardship as a way of life, we make a commitment to do certain things for a certain period … Read more

Editor’s note: The passing of our friend and longtime advisor Msgr. Thomas McGread in April was a tremendous loss to all who came to know him and work with him in developing stewardship as a way of life. But Msgr. McGread’s legacy will continue to live on through our work and through this blog, as we are fortunate to have in our archives many of his writings and teachings. The Catholic Steward will continue to share these with our followers as we continue to live Msgr. McGread’s vision for stewardship and evangelization in the Church. When I was a younger … Read more

Editor’s note: The passing of our friend and longtime advisor Msgr. Thomas McGread in April was a tremendous loss to all who came to know him and work with him in developing stewardship as a way of life. But Msgr. McGread’s legacy will continue to live on through our work and through this blog, as we are fortunate to have in our archives many of his writings and teachings. The Catholic Steward will continue to share these with our followers as we continue to live Msgr. McGread’s vision for stewardship and evangelization in the Church. Everybody has talents. Everybody. The … Read more