Stewardship: A choice of the heart |
 |
 |
|
Written by SR. CARLA MURAR, Diocesan Stewardship Office Director
|
|
Saturday, 14 February 2009 01:00 |
We associate the month of February with celebrations of two great presidents — George Washington and Abraham Lincoln — and of Valentine’s Day.
The latter seems to be trivial compared to remembering what those great men did for our country. However, if we look at it from a different perspective we can see that all three of these days have to do with a choice of the heart. Washington and Lincoln loved our country and worked for its good from that love, even when the causes for which they were working seemed lost.
Valentine, a priest of Rome was arrested for marrying people in the Christian faith. According to legend, while St. Valentine was waiting for execution, he spread the love of Christ through letters to his “congregation.” All of these men made a choice of the heart to preserve and tend the good of all.
When speaking of stewardship as a choice of the heart, we are saying that making the choice to be a good steward is not just an act of the will. It is also an act of the heart. One of the essential requirements for becoming a committed steward is to take seriously the need for daily conversion to the life of a disciple. The heart must be engaged if true conversion is to take place.
There is one reliable way to engage the heart and enable continuing conversion: it is getting involved. Involvement does not happen by chance. It comes from being welcomed into relationship, relationship with others.
A parish wishing to foster the role of right relationships needs to be prepared to welcome “the stranger,” whomever might fit that description. Welcoming like this demands openness to our baptismal call, to live our lives in imitation of Jesus. When people feel welcomed, they are more likely to sense they and their gifts and talents are valued.
All of us have a deep need to be needed. This is a big piece of being human. Part and parcel of this need is the desire to share our gifts and talents with others. The desire may be buried under a lack of knowledge of our own gifts and talents, but it is there. This yearning blossoms when relationships of trust call it forth.
We are blessed with people in this diocese who have had their hearts engaged and converted to a life of stewardship. Deborah Kroeger, a parishioner of Port Clinton Immaculate Conception, has graciously allowed me to briefly share the story of her conversion of heart.
Sometimes a lack of careful tending to (stewardship of) one’s faith can lead to a break with the practice of that faith. This was the case in Ms. Kroeger’s life. For quite some time she was absent from the practice of the faith. The death of her mother from colon cancer caused her to re-evaluate her lifestyle and the place faith had in her life. The product of this reflection led her to again take up the practice of the faith. This would not have been possible without the welcoming heart of her next door neighbor and the welcoming spirit of the parishioners in the parish to which she returned.
The hospitality shown her enabled her to be open to the invitation to a deeper relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist. From this relationship came a renewed desire to live out her baptismal call to be a disciple — a steward of God’s gifts to her.
She was soon led to learn more about her faith through participating in the Catholic Identity course and the RCIA process. This in turn led her to share her talents and time by getting involved in two other ministries of the parish: Respect Life and the Religious Education program.
Not only has her parish been enriched by her participation, but the community at large has profited. Ms. Kroeger now belongs to the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants and is on the board of directors for Heartbeat of Ottawa County: a fitting position for someone who has so definitely made a choice of the heart.
What does her story have to do with us? Most of us will not have as dramatic a conversion process, nevertheless, we can learn from Ms. Kroeger’s. She was open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit given to her through her daily life. Instead of ignoring them, she accepted them. We can allow ourselves to be open to God’s call through prayer, forming good relationships, cultivating an attitude of gratitude in the life situation in which we find ourselves. May we resolve to ask God for these gifts.
|
|
Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 March 2009 15:12 |
