Stewardship
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Stewardship
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March
19, 2003 For some of us, the first barrier to stewardship is understanding that all of what we think we own really belongs instead to the Lord. That was not a problem for St. Joseph. From the very beginning, the words of an angel made clear that those special people who shared his life — his beloved wife, Mary, and his adopted son, Jesus – were “on loan” to him by the Lord and entrusted to his care. A man of great faith, he accepted the responsibility without hesitation and with complete trust in the Lord. “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife,” the angel said. “Rise, take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt,” the angel directed…and every time, St. Joseph obeyed without question. The carpenter of Nazareth patiently taught his foster son to practice his Jewish faith, passed on its laws and customs, and helped Him to learn his trade. And He did it well, for Scripture tells us that “Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor before God and man” (Luke 2:52). This just man of faith proved to be a conscientious steward of all that had been given him — his traditions, his vocation,” his relationships. “Whatever you do, Scripture says, “do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment” (Col 3:23-24). St. Joseph unfailingly did exactly that. May his example and trust in the Lord inspire us to do the same. Born in Great Britain, St. Patrick was the son of a Roman official. When he was 16, he and some of his father’s slaves were kidnapped by Irish raiders and sold into slavery in Ireland. In time, Patrick escaped and spent a number of years in France, where he studied for the priesthood and eventually became a bishop. In 432, he returned to Ireland as a missionary, a task he saw as a gift in spite of this difficulty. “How did so great and salutary a gift come to me, though at the cost of homeland and family? I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others” (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. II, p. 1711, Catholic Book Publishing, 1975). Making himself one with the people and learning their languages and customs, St. Patrick’s efforts to evangelize Ireland were wonderfully successful. Using his gifts in the service of the Church, he himself became a gift to the Church in Europe in later centuries as the faith which he planted bore fruit in the lives of Irish missionaries. There is an old children’s song titled I Sing a Song of the Saints of God by Lesbia Scott which concludes with the following lyrics: “They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still, the world is bright with the joyous saints who love to do Jesus’ will. You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea, for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.” These are inspiring and challenging words for all of us to consider as we strive to mirror the examples of the good stewardship of not only St. Joseph and St. Patrick, but that of all the saints in our lives. (Andrew Kaczynski is Coordinator of Stewardship for the Archdiocese.)
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