Stewardship, A Disciple’s Response

  The Challenge

 In some ways it may be harder to be a Christian steward today than at times in the past.  Although religious faith is a strong force in the lives of many Americans, our country’s dominant secular culture often contradicts the values of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.  This is a culture in which destructive “isms” –

materialism,

relativism,

hedonism,

individualism,

consumerism –

exercise seductive, powerful influences.  There is a strong tendency to privatize faith, to push it to the margins of society, confining it to people’s hearts or, at best, their homes, while excluding it from the market place of ideas where social policy is formed and men and women acquire their view of life and its meaning.

 The Choice

 …Evangelization is not the priority it should be.  How to use people’s gifts and charisms, how to empower the laity, how to recognize the role of women, how to affirm racial, cultural, and ethnic minorities, how to overcome poverty and oppression – these and countless other issues remain vexing questions, as well as opportunities…

The Vision

 Jesus’ invitation to follow him is addressed to people of every time and condition.  Here and now it is addressed to us – Catholic citizens of a wealthy, powerful nation facing many questions about its identity and role… We pray that the Holy Spirit, whose gracious action conforms us to Jesus Christ and to the Church, will enlighten us all and help us to renew our commitment as the Lord’s disciples and as stewards of his bountiful gifts.

An excerpt from the U.S. Bishops' Pastoral Letter on Stewardship, Stewardship, A Disciple’s Response (Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference, Inc., 1993) pp.2-6; reprinted with permission.