Teaching Stewardship as a Way of Life

(Taken from an article by Anne Neuberger in Religion Teacher’s Journal, April/May 2008)

Many of us tend to think of stewardship as a drive or a fundraiser—not as a way of life.  We Catholics are called to be good stewards, so Catholic educators and parents need to teach stewardship as a way of life.  A steward is a person who manages another’s property.  God’s “property” is all creation, so as God’s stewards, we must:

·         Understand that life and its may blessings are sheer gifts from God

·         Discern between our wants and our needs

·         Use time and resources on what is truly important

·         Recognize that all people have as much right to God’s gifts as we do

·         Work for others’ basic needs

Catholic social Teaching

We are fortunate to have Catholic social principles to guide us in teaching our children to be good stewards.  The principles are:

·         The dignity of every person—God made every single one of us, so every person must be treated with respect and fairness.

·         Family and community—People need other people.  By helping one another in many ways, we create a loving community.

·         Rights and Responsibilities—All people must have food, water, work, shelter, education, and medical care.  These basic needs are “rights.”  Yet m any don’t have these.  Those who do must help others to get them.  That is their “responsibility.”

·         Stewardship of Creation—the earth and all life on it is God’s creation.  We must care for it because

ü  It is a holy gift from God,

ü  It is the only place we can live,

ü  Misuse causes many people and other living creatures to suffer.

·        Solidarity—the world’s peoples are interdependent, so we must work together.  We are all sisters and brothers.

Wisdom on Stewardship

“God destined the earth and all it contains for all people and all nations so that all created things would be shared fairly by all humankind under the guidance of justice tempered by charity.”   --The Church in the Modern world, Vatican II, 1965.

 

“Stewardship is an expression of discipleship; it is not an option for Catholics.” –Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, 1992 pastoral letter of the United States Bishops

“Material goods and the way we are developing the use of them should be seen as God’s gift to us.  They are meant to bring out in each of us the image of God.  We must never lose sight of how we have been created: from the earth and from the breath of God.”—On Social Concern, John  Paul II, 1989