God’s Personal Assistants
God is the guest of honor in our life, the keynote speaker, the main event. We need to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight His paths. We need to make everything ready so that when He shows up, everything is ready for Him to do His job.
Preparing the Manger
Every good Catholic knows that Lent is a penitential season. It’s harder for us to remember that with Advent, but Advent is just as much of an opportunity for penance, preparation, and reconciliation to God — and just as much reason, too.
Long Live the King
We are all leaders of a sort. On the parish level, you have the obvious roles like serving on pastoral council. But you also have the quiet ones who lead from the wings, like the janitor who can always be relied upon to do his or her job.
Giving Until it Hurts
Christ gave differently. He gave until it was all gone. Such is the highest form of stewardship: the gift of self to the point of discomfort. It demands that we go against our human nature of putting ourselves first.
The Look
Have you ever made the mistake of telling your spouse that you’re out of something — only to see them respond with The Look? Then you realize it: of course, he or she knows you’re out of butter. They knew long before you noticed.
The Daily Examen of Stewardship
“Stewardship” can get a bum rap these days. When folks hear the term “stewardship” from the pulpit, their eyes tend to kind of glaze over. “Here’s Father asking for more money,” they groan inwardly, “Get ready for the passing of the pledge cards.”
Giving as God Does
Ask yourself this question — what would you pray for if you really believed God could and would do anything for you? In my experience, we all have something. We all have that miracle we’re afraid to request, afraid we will be disappointed.
What’s in it for me?
I think we’ve all been guilty of looking at a situation and wondering what’s in it for us. Often, our first reaction to one of these requests is a heavy sigh. Sometimes it surprises us to realize that the Apostles were no different.
If Heaven were like Harvard
When you think about it, the virtues required to enter Heaven should be even closer within the grasp of those who never had to worry about where their food is coming from. The same is true for stewardship potential.
Therein lies the…rib
“If I were God…” is a dangerous way to start a sentence, but how many of us do this? Probably more regularly than we would like to admit. Where is the rib you are missing today? What are the opportunities God has set before you?
Breaking the Stewardship Mold
Have you noticed how we always tend to pigeonhole one another? Thinking like this is a good indication that we aren’t in conversation with God. If we have already decided what we are and are not meant to do, we aren’t likely to pray over it.
The View from the Back of the Line
Have you known that person? The one who leaves every person they encounter feeling a little more blessed for having met them? We wonder how they do it, how they have it in them. We’re a little envious, even if we don’t let ourselves acknowledge it.