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Stewardship
"Serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received." 1 Peter 4:10
Stewardship is a way of life that acknowledges God as the Source and Owner of all. We are merely caretakers of all God's gifts.
A steward, as the U.S. Bishops wrote in their Pastoral Letter "Stewardship: A Disciple's Response," is someone who . . .
� Receives God's gifts gratefully;
� Cultivates them responsibly;
� Shares them with love and justice; and
Stewardship is not a choice but at the heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ. Stewardship is expressed in three ways:
In the gifts of our TIME - through regular participation at Mass, personal prayer, spending quiet time listening to God in our hearts, and reading the Scriptures;
In the gifts of our TALENT - sharing the skills and talents God has given each of us with others;
In the gifts of our TREASURE - returning to God a portion (tithe) of our material possessions with our gifts to Church and other charities.
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A STEWARDSHIP SAINT
SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS
St. Martin of Tours was born around 316 in a territory that is now part of Hungary. His father, an officer in the Roman army, conscripted Martin into military service at the age of fifteen.
While Martin was still a soldier, there occurred the famous incident memorialized by many artists. One day while at the gates of the city of Amiens he saw a scantily clad beggar. Martin cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar. That night Martin dreamed that Jesus was wearing that same half-cloak he had given away. Martin had for some time considered becoming a Christian. He was promptly baptized and made the decision to dedicate his life to Christ.
Martin became a follower of St. Hilary of Poitiers who gave him land where the first monastery in Gaul (present day France) was established. It is the first monastery known to be established north of the Alps. Christianity was largely confined to urban areas, and Martin saw monasteries as rural spiritual centers from which evangelization in the countryside could take place. He was zealous in bringing people to Christ.
In 371, a time when bishops were chosen by the faithful, Martin was tricked into coming to Tours to be elected bishop. He was well-known for his evangelizing, personal holiness, healing ministry and compassion toward the poor. It was also well known that Martin would never agree to be a bishop. A man from the city come to Martin and begged him to visit his sick wife. When the kindhearted Martin got to Tours crowds of people came out of hiding and surrounded him. Unable to escape, he was swept into the city and, overwhelmed by the will of the crowds, became their bishop.
Martin maintained his lifestyle as a monk and exercised stewardship of the diocese on foot, horseback and by boat. His profound personal witness met with great success in an area that was largely pagan.
Martin died on November 8, 397, and his feast is November 11, the day he was buried in Tours. He is a patron saint of France.
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STEWARDSHIP MESSAGE
Jesus points out to his disciples the poor widow who has just dropped two simple copper coins into the temple treasury. He then delivers a teaching on stewardship. Despite her poverty, the poor widow in today�s Gospel does not refuse God her generosity. Out of her desperately impoverished life she contributes to an earthly institution to give God glory and praise. It is not the monetary value of the gift that was important, but the love, trust and gratitude expressed through the gift. The Gospel asks us similarly compelling stewardship questions: What do we value? In what or whom do we place our trust? How do our own contributions to our community of faith reflect our generosity toward God?
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