Stewardship Overview
The Stewardship efforts of the Archdiocese of Miami incorporates 109 parishes and missions. Our primary goal is to help each person open wide the doors of their heart to Christ, and realizes themselves through the sincere gift of oneself, finding the secret to a fulfilled and fulfilling life through self-giving. As you welcome and review this concept yearly, your commitment and responsibility for your relationship with God deepens, encouraging you to participate and engage in your community of faith even further. Archbishop Wenski defines this as the “Theology of the Gift”.
Timeless Stewardship
Pray In order to achieve a Stewardship way of life, we first need to create a conversion of the heart and mind. Devote “alone time” with God to build that relationship. Through prayer, discern what your gifts are Dedicate time to pray, attend Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, reading scripture, meditate
Participate Stewardship is using the spiritual gifts God has given each one of us individually to build up the body of Christ and together accomplish the mission God has for us. You grow spiritually by sharing your gifts and talents in your community of faith. Join a ministry, a group, a mission, give of yourself.
Provide God calls the church to serve and assist the Body of Christ and those in need; we are asked to prayerfully discern how God has uniquely gifted us; reflect; decide how we plan to share these gifts; and make an intentional, planned and proportionate gift to God and His Church.
Proclaim We give thanks and show our gratitude as a parish to everyone who participates. Through our gratitude we keep Stewardship at our parish and in our homes alive.
Four Pillars of Stewardship
Stewardship makes each of us aware that we all have a “calling” to gratitude and responsibility – in our families and friendships, in our work, in whatever we do and wherever we go. Stewardship is a spirituality – a way of life – that should compel us to act in four principal ways:
- Receive the gifts of God with gratitude
- Cultivate those gifts responsibly
- Share them lovingly in justice with others
- Stand before the Lord in a spirit of accountability
Each of us must decide how we will live out a stewardship way of life. We first must recognize that everything in life is a gift from God. We then must desire to be true and committed disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. As members of the Catholic Church, Jesus calls us to be His disciples. This has astonishing implications:
- Mature disciples make a conscious decision to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost.
- Disciples experience conversion – a life shaping change of heart and mind – and commit themselves to the Lord.
- Christian stewards respond in a specific way to discipleship. It radically transforms the way they live their lives.
What is your New Year’s Stewardship Resolution?