June 22: Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
The Psalmist assures us that "the Lord hears the poor." Often, however, He
answers their need through the generous gifts of good stewards.
June 29: St. Peter & St. Paul
Jesus gave Peter the keys to heaven. Later, he sent an angel to free Paul,
so he could continue preaching. Love of Christ is the key to becoming a
cheerful giver.
July 6: Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
"Let all Your works give You thanks, O Lord, and let Your faithful ones bless
You," says the Psalmist. Stewardship is this "attitude of gratitude" for the
many gifts God has given us.
July 13: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
May our stewardship of time, talent, and treasure show us to be among those who
have heard the message of Christ and taken it in, yielding a hundred – or sixty
– or thirty-fold!
July 20: Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary
Time
"Those who are just must be kind," says today’s first reading. If our words and
deeds are kind and selfless, we will be like the good seed in the Gospel parable
and gathered as wheat in the Lord’s harvest.
July 27: Seventeenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
"The law of Your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver
pieces," says the Psalmist today. Does the amount of my offering suggest that I
could honestly say the same?
August 3: Eighteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, Jesus feeds the five thousand with five loaves and two
fish. The message of stewardship is that God’s gifts, shared, will always be
more than enough.
August 10: Nineteenth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Elijah recognized the voice of God not in the strong and heavy wind, not in the
earthquake, and not in the fire, but in a tiny whispering sound. May we find
enough quiet in our clamorous world to hear His voice and discern what He is
calling us to do and be.
August 15: Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary
"After Jesus, it is the Blessed Virgin Mary who by her example most perfectly
teaches the meaning of discipleship and stewardship . . . (S)he was called and
gifted by God; she responded generously, creatively and prudently; she
understood her divinely assigned role as ‘handmaid’ in terms of service and
fidelity."
August 17: Twentieth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
In today’s second reading, St. Paul tells the Romans, "God’s gifts and his call
are irrevocable." To what is God calling me today? What gifts are mine to share?
August 24: Twenty-First Sunday in
Ordinary Time
In today’s readings, St. Paul reminds the Romans - and us – that all things come
from God: "For from Him and through Him and for Him all things are." Good
stewards understand that all is gift and share generously the gifts of time,
talent, and treasure with which they’ve been blessed.
August 31: Twenty-second Sunday in
Ordinary Time
In today’s second reading, St. Paul exhorts the Romans to total stewardship.
Brothers and sisters, he urges, ". . . offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God."
September 7: Twenty-Third Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Am I my brother’s keeper? All three readings today suggest that for the
Christian steward the answer is "Yes!"
September 14: Exaltation of the Holy
Cross
Jesus sacrificed everything, accepting a humiliating death on the cross, sharing
with
us the gift of salvation. We too are called to give "until it hurts" to those in
need.
September 21: Twenty-Fifth Sunday in
Ordinary Time, Catechetical Sunday
In today’s Gospel, the vineyard owner says, "I am free to do as I please with my
money, am I not?" We are likewise free. Is a generous return to the Lord in
thanksgiving for His many blessings among the choices we have made?
September 28, Twenty-Sixth Sunday in
Ordinary Time
The first son in today’s Gospel said he would do his father’s bidding, but did
not. The second son balked at first, but then repented and did as he was asked.
What service is God calling me to do? Which son am I more like?
