"Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work."
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

May 5, 2019
Homily on Stewardship
Fr. Tim Hedrick

       I heard a story recently about a priest was speeding down a highway when a state trooper stopped him for speeding.  The trooper smelled alcohol on the priest’s breath and spotted an empty wine bottle rolling around on the floor of the car.  He said, “Father, have you been drinking?”  The priest replied, “Just water, officer.”  The trooper asked, “Then why do I smell wine?”  The priest looked down at the bottle and said, “Good Lord, He’s done it again!!!”

       In the Gospel today, we don’t hear about the changing of water into wine, but we hear about another miracle.  The disciples had been fishing all night and have caught nothing…zero fish…one of the most frustrating feelings if you’ve ever gone fishing. When the resurrected Lord Jesus appears to them, he tells them to cast their nets on the right side of the boat and they will find some fish.  Although a little skeptical, they trusted the Lord. Not only did they find fish, but they catch so many fish that they could not pull in their nets.  The lesson from this scripture is that left to their own, they caught nothing, but with the Lord’s blessing, they had an abundance.    

       The same is true for us.  On our own, we have nothing, but with the Lord, we are blessed.  EVERYTHING that we have…our time, our talents, and our treasures…every blessing is a gift from God.  EVERYTHING we have is on loan to us from God and we are responsible for caring for it…for being good stewards of the gifts God has given us.  Part of being good stewards is to share our time, talent and treasurers with others as a way of acknowledging that every good gift we have comes from God.   

       Once a year, it is important to stop and reflect on the many blessings God has given us and to prayerful reflect on our stewardship of those gifts.  Today, I invite each of us to reflect on our stewardship of our time, talent and treasure.

       First, we begin with our TIME.   My heart is only beating…I have breath in my lungs today, because God wills it.  God gives me the gift of life and the gift of time.  How do I use my time to give back to him?  Jesus desires an intimate relationship with us, but WE have to make the time for it in our lives.  Do I make it a priority, do I have a place in my schedule set aside, to spend time with Jesus at Sunday mass? To engage in other activities—daily prayer, spiritual reading, going to Adoration—that will allow my relationship with Jesus to grow? SCS offers MANY opportunities to grow your relationship with God: the sacraments, Alpha, Bible studies, LTMTP, etc.  Our lives are ridiculously busy though.  I guarantee that if you plan to spend any “unexpected” free time with the Lord, anything you might have left over at the end of the day…it’ll never happen. But if you make spending time with Jesus a non-negotiable part of your day, if you intentionally set aside that time to grow your relationship with him, he will not only meet you halfway, but he also will overwhelm you with the gift of his love.

       Next we reflect on our TALENTS:  All that I am is a gift from God…my intellect, my physical health, my ability to have relationships with others, only exist through God’s handiwork in me.  How do I use what I have to build up his kingdom?  Do I make it a point to intentionally use some use of my talents for the benefit of others? Do I volunteer to help others?  SCS has MANY hands-on opportunities to be of service to the Church and to members of our community who are in need in some way: feeding the homeless, meals on wheels, homebound visitation, prison ministry, SVDP ministry, etc.  Jesus tells in Matthew 25: “Whatever you did for the least of your brothers and sisters, you did for me.”  If we give of ourselves in service to God, we can expect to one day hear him say at the end of our lives, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

       Finally, we look to our TREASURE.  All of our material and financial resources are blessings from God.  While our worldly blessings and success are the result of our hard work and efforts, ultimately it is a gift from God. Without life, without our talents, without health, without God, we would have nothing.  God is the ultimate source of all of our blessings.  We are called to use our financial resources to help others.  There is a temptation to give only from our excess…from what is left over, but we are called to give back to God first…to make it a priority.

       When I started my first job as a youth minister in 2004, I learned an important lesson: God cannot be outdone in generosity.  Since this was my first full-time job, I decided I was going to try tithing. My salary was $24,000 so I took a leap of faith and decided to follow the biblical tithe of 10%…so I gave away $2,400 off the top…pre-tax.  At the end of the year, a youth group parent asked me if I wanted to go to World Youth Day in Germany.  I said I would love to but I couldn’t afford it.  She said, “I didn’t ask you if you could afford it…I asked you if you wanted to go.”  “Of course!” So she said to find a trip.  I found a group going and the cost of the trip was $2,600.  A few weeks later she came back to me and she sent an email to the parents of the youth group and they collected $3,600 for me to go.  When I told her I didn’t need that much, she said keep it.  I ended up going to WYD in Germany and then the following year, I took the remaining money and went to Medjugorje.  The lesson I learned is that everything comes from God…even my salary.  As I thanked God for the financial blessings I received, he could not…he would not be outdone in generosity.  Ever since that first year, I have been tithing…and I find that every year…as I give to the church and to various charities, God CANNOT be outdone.  MORE than I give always comes back in one way or another. I give to be grateful, but find that blessings always come in unexpected ways. 

       This week we will be mailing all parishioners a letter inviting you to prayerfully reflect on your financial stewardship to our parish and to make a personal commitment for this year.  While we are doing well financially, as our stewardship increases, we are able to do more…to serve more people.  We are able to offer more spiritual opportunities such as Alpha which has had over 400 people participate in the last 15 months.   Every week, we take 7% of the collection and use that to serve the poor and needy.  Our goal is to eventually raise that to 10% so that we can serve even more of the poor and needy…to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the poor.  Last year, SCS gave over $93,000 from the Sunday collection to various local, national, and international charities…everything from feeding the homeless, prison ministry, pro-life ministries, addiction recovery programs, women’s shelters, etc.  As you give to SCS, your money is used to help support the local parish ministries, but also the poor and needy. Thank you in advance for your prayerful consideration of your stewardship.  Our mission and our ministry at St. Catherine of Siena would not be possible without you!

      Last and most importantly, As I think of ALL that God has given us as a community…As I reflect on the many ways that you all serve in our parish community by giving of your time and talents…as I reflect on the generosity of this parish by giving financially your treasures, my only response is one of gratitude!  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!  I can’t say thank you enough to each of you.  We have one of, if not THE, most generous parishes in the Archdiocese. SCS is known for it’s generosity.  I am personally grateful for your continued faithfulness and generosity!

      As the disciples learned, every good blessings comes from God. I invite you this week to spend sometime praying and reflecting on where God is inviting you to spend more time with him to get to know him better, to put yourself at the service of the church and others, to give more of your treasure to be used in service of the gospel mission.  As we celebrate the Eucharist today, we thank God for all that he has given us and we pray for the grace to be good stewards.

May 8, 2019
Letter to Parishioners on Stewardship

Dear Parishioners,

       At all Masses this weekend, we reflected on the many blessings which come to us from God and our response to those blessings.  As Catholic Christians, we know that everything that we have is a gift from God.  We are responsible for caring for these gifts and being good stewards of all that God has given us.  True stewardship encompasses our time - how we spend our time growing closer to the Lord; our talent - how we use our God-given abilities to serve others and to build up the Kingdom; and our treasure - how we use our financial resources to help others and support the works of the Lord.  Part of being good stewards is sharing our blessings with others as a way of acknowledging that every good gift that we have comes from God.

       It is important for each of us to regularly look at all that God has given us and prayerfully reflect on how we use these gifts.  I hope that you will take some time this week to consider how God might be calling you to get to know Jesus better by spending time with Him, and how God might be calling you to give of your talent and skills to build up God's kingdom through service and community outreach. Our parish website lists all of the current ways to grow spiritually and get involved at St. Catherine of Siena. 

       I am also inviting you to reflect prayerfully on your financial stewardship to our parish and to make a personal commitment for this year.  In order for our parish to fulfill its mission, both your prayers and your financial support are needed. Your planning for and commitment to financial stewardship allow St. Catherine of Siena Parish, in turn, to more effectively plan for the coming year.  Enclosed is a commitment card which describes different methods of giving. I encourage you to consider online giving, which offers convenient and consistent giving.  Please complete the enclosed commitment card and return to the parish office, either by mail or in the collection basket.

       As I reflect on our vibrant parish community and the many blessings which come to us from God, I would like to share a scripture passage with you that captures my sentiments:  

       “I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you, praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you, because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now.  I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).

       Thank you for all you do to support the mission and ministry of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church as we seek to be a parish that is “Centered on Christ, Ablaze with Love!” Please pray for me as I promise to pray for you!

Sincerely in Christ,
Rev. Timothy D. Hedrick
Pastor 

Click here for  Stewardship Commitment Card