Stewardship:  Joyfully living out our commitment to be Eucharistic and Prayer Centered

    In a world which often tells us to think only of ourselves, we need to take this commitment seriously, exercise and express it through personal involvement with family, friends, co-workers and others.

    In the Acts of the Apostles, (1:9-11), we read, "When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.  While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.  They said, 'men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?  This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.'"

    There is a story told of a construction worker who was hurt by a beam that fell from above him and broke his leg.  Once healed and recovered, he would always look up when he heard equipment moving.  However, while lookup one day he fell into a ditch and broke his other leg.

    Perhaps, unlike the disciples of Jesus, we still find ourselves looking up to Jesus to answer all the world's problems.  We often pray petitions like:  "For our world, we pray to the lord... for the homeless and hungry, we pray to the lord... for an increase in religious vocations, we pray to the lord..."  It's like:  'you do something about these situations, God, and do it now!"

    But what about our stewardship???  To be a true disciple of Jesus we need to take seriously our own baptismal commitment and be Jesus for others, become stewards of His blessings to use them for the building up of His people.  As human beings, we have a deep need to feel connected or belonging to others.  We need to love and be loved.  The family is the place where we should find supportive relationship that sustain us in life and we need to share that relationship with others.

    Time, the emphasis of our stewardship program that will begin this fall, is one of God's blessings.  But, you might ask, how can I use my time to develop supportive relationships with others?  Let us just suggest a few ways, among many, for you consideration.

• Have a conversation with each member of the family.

• Invite a family member or friend to join you in an activity (especially when you do not have to).

• Let others go first. (Think about this one!)

• Hold a family meeting or prayer.

• Phone a family member or friend you haven't spoken to for a while.

• Acknowledge the accomplishments of others.

    Stewardship is Christ's invitation to us to belong to the kingdom of God.  Christ reached out to all people -- can we do any less?