From The Pastor’s Desk

When I mention stewardship, is seems like people only think about, “Father wants more money!” Within marriage, money is a lot of times a touchy subject due to budgets and unexpected emergencies, so it is within “church”. It is not easy to tackle this subject within the parish family. So let’s forget about money, budgets and talk about true stewardship.

This past weekend the Parish Council hosted St. Agnes Stewardship Fair. We have not had one here at St. Agnes for at least four years. It presented many of the different ministries which our parish is involved in both here in the parish as well as in the community. Many of the ministries are a combination, parish and community.

It is easy to look at the examples of the Saints before us and throw our arms up in defeat, saying, “Giving up all of my possessions is not realistic—I have a family to take care of. So I guess I cannot do this stewardship thing.” But that thought process is kind of like missing the “spirit” of the law because one is so focused on the “letter” of the law. In the spirit of the great Saints before us, let’s all consider how our lives, our priorities, and our decisions reflect Christ and make some changes where necessary.

Ask yourself: How can I use ten minutes this day, or an hour—whatever is the case, to thank God for all of the blessings he has bestowed on me? I have $5, $50 or $500—how can I use it to help others in need? I have skills in music, computers, listening, carpentry, gardening—whatever talents you’ve been blessed. How can I use these gifts to show God that I love my brother and sister as I love myself?

Stewardship isn’t a contest of who can give the most money. It isn’t a popularity contest of who is in the most activities. And it certainly isn’t a “Who’s Got Talent” contest of who has the most impressive gifts from God. Stewardship is a very personal commitment to God and to our faith community. And just like jumping back on the diet wagon after you have eaten a dozen donuts, Stewardship is a decision to be made daily—hourly—one at a time. It is never too late to choose Christ as the first priority in your life. And making that choice certainly does not mean that you walk away from your job, your house, and your belongings. Stewardship simply means remembering that all we have: in our bank accounts, in our resumes, our hobby rooms and on our calendars…ALL we have is a gift from God and we should treat it all accordingly.

I do want to take this time to thank all the many volunteers who help around our parish plant. I will not try to name people because I will leave some of you off the list as I keep seeing different people doing different things. I also want to thank all of you who give in the collection to help keep the parish solvent. If you ask pastors, “what is your biggest concern”, almost all will tell you, “Is there enough money to pay the bills this month.” So again I thank all of you who use your Sunday envelopes, and ask those who do not contribute, to please consider helping to pay the family bills.

SAVE THE DATE: Tickets for SCHS’s production of Hunchback of Notre Dame, Nov. 14,15,& 17, go on sale to the public Oct. 12, 2019