Stewardship

06-25-2023Weekly ReflectionDeacon Tom Henrich/Msgr. James Vlaun

Fr. Bing will be gone for the next month, and he has asked me to “pinch hit” in his place in the “Message from Fr. Bing.” He asked me to focus my comments on Stewardship. I must admit to being a bit afraid of this task, as I only learned about it yesterday, but I can say I have already learned a fantastic lesson from this “by chance,” (there is no chance; God has a plan.) As part of my daily routine, I read the daily readings and then go to the website, usccb.org and listen to a short reflection on the day’s readings. Mondays always has Msgr. James Vlaun and he is excellent! Today was no exception, and it just so happened to be on the topic of Stewardship. I would like to share a transcript of what he said here.

“Early in my priesthood, I was working with a bunch of kids from the Youth Group and after their volunteering at the parish was done, I took them across the street to the local pizza place. We ordered and I put my hand in my pocket and all I had was a $20 bill and back in the day, that literally was all I had. I didn’t want to be embarrassed, so I paid for the pizza and the soda, like $19.25, and said to myself, ‘Well, Saturday I think I’ll get some money, and I have a pretty full tank of gas, I should be OK.’ Well, the next morning, there was an envelope in my mailbox from a parishioner with a $50 bill in it and a note ‘a gift to use as you wish.’ Now, I’m not raising money here, but I’m raising a point: throughout the 35 years of my priesthood, every time a situation like this has arisen, EVERY TIME, it has come back almost immediately. Jesus is making a point like this today in the Gospel [Mt 5:3842 ‘…if anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand them your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.’] Giving has to be part and parcel of who we are. And not from the excess, if there is excess, no. Tunics and cloaks were necessary, they weren’t extra. Giving is who we are as followers of Christ. We think of giving to the church in three areas: time, talent and treasure. Well, time is hard to give. We’re on the road following behind someone like my dad, who is 88 years old and when he drove, he drove 50 mph in the right lane. We rush around those folks. Waiting on a line at a supermarket and the person in front of us is taking their time. Knowing our kids need to talk to us, but we have a lot to do. When we ‘spend time,’ it comes back to us. The same is true with talent. Helping a neighbor, doing some work down at the church, teaching religious education, using our gifts to make someone’s life better. It’s the DNA of being a believer. I know a woman who bakes a coffee cake for every family in her parish who has a wake. Does it take away all of the pain? No. But in giving, families are touched and transformed one by one. And then there’s treasure. Well, that’s the $20 in your pocket. I see good and holy people each week walking into the church with bags of food for the pantry. They built into the rhythms of their lives taking care of the poor. That’s all of us in every aspect of our lives: it comes back. Now is all we have. Now is what Christ wants. Time, talent and treasure are our ancestry and DNA. Look in your pocket today and let it go. It will come back tenfold.”

God is not outdone in generosity. He provides what we need, just like he provided this reflection when I was in need of something to write. God wants to show you His generosity. Give Him the opportunity to show you how truly generous He is!