Editorial

Spirituality of stewardship is an effective means of advancing Church’s mission

The 63rd annual International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC) will be held in Chicago next week on Sept. 21–24. An estimated 600 parish and diocesan leaders from different regions of the United States and other countries will gather to learn more about the spirituality of stewardship and discuss effective approaches to developing the human and financial resources needed to carry out the Church’s mission.

The mission of ICSC is to promote and support Catholic teaching on stewardship by providing education and resources for dioceses, parishes and other institutions of the Catholic Church. As today’s parishes and dioceses address current opportunities and challenges and look to the future, the annual ICSC conference offers invaluable opportunities for learning, sharing and networking in this increasingly important area of our Church’s life.

A distinctive feature of this year’s stewardship conference is the introduction of a new bishops’ advisory group whose mission is to serve as advocates for the stewardship movement and to advise ICSC’s leaders on the particular needs of parishes and dioceses today.

Chaired by Louisville Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre, episcopal moderator of ICSC, the new bishops’ advisory group includes Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, N.J.; Archbishop Joe S. Vasquez of Galveston-Houston; Bishop Emeritus Paul J. Bradley of Kalamazoo, Mich.; Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, Wis.; and Bishop J. Mark Spalding of Nashville, Tenn.

Bishops and pastors have important roles in teaching stewardship as a way of life. Through their prayer, preaching and personal witness, pastoral leaders (clergy and lay people) can guide their people to an understanding of Christian stewardship that goes far beyond the familiar “time, talent and treasure” to the fullness of life in Christ.

Pope Leo XIV clearly understands the importance of integrating our spiritual and material lives. 

“We should set aside moments of silence, moments of prayer, times in which, quieting noise and distractions, we recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart,” said the pope in his July 20 homily at the Cathedral of

St. Pancras Martyr in the town of Albano Laziale, southeast of Rome. “This is a dimension of the Christian life that we particularly need to recover today. We must make room for silence, for listening to the Father who speaks and sees in secret” (Mt 6:6).

Christian stewards strive to integrate their spiritual lives with their material existence. They view money and material possessions not as ends in themselves, but as means to do God’s will and serve the needs of others. They come to see how the stewardship virtues of gratitude, accountability, generosity and the willingness to give back to God with increase help to transform their lives from dependence on worldly values of wealth, power and prestige to the freedom and joy that come from self-sacrificing love.

According to Pope Leo, “the future of human flourishing depends on which ‘love’ we choose to organize our society around—a selfish love, the love of self, or the love of God and neighbor.” Christian stewards choose the latter love, and they reflect this choice in the way they cultivate and share all the gifts given to them by our generous and loving God.

Care for creation is an essential component of the spirituality of stewardship. So are hospitality, care for the poor and vulnerable, and profound respect for all human persons made in the image and likeness of their Creator.

Christian stewards know that every spiritual and material gift belongs to God alone. We are but stewards of God’s bounty, called to take care of, and share generously, the spiritual and material blessings we have received from God’s goodness.

Christian stewards pray always because they combine their formal prayers (both personal and in community) with all their daily activities. Responsible stewardship means integrating two essential dimensions of our lives—the material and spiritual, our prayer and work. As a result, what we do as stewards of God’s gifts is less important than how we do it or why we do it.

Good stewards “make room for silence.” They strive to take the gifts they have been given, cultivate them responsibly, and share them generously with others. The spirituality of stewardship teaches all of us how to be good stewards, how to care for creation, and how to share God’s gifts with everyone we encounter, especially the poor and vulnerable.

Please pray for the parish and diocesan leaders meeting in Chicago next week. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was the first Christian steward, intercede for all who teach the spirituality of stewardship as the most effective means of advancing our Church’s mission.

—Daniel Conway