July 29 -- Stewardship 303: Unwrapping the gift

By Eric Haselhorst

Associate Director of Stewardship

Take a moment and pull out your check book and your calendar. This exercise will help you determine if you are growing spirituality and personally. Do not tally up how many Masses you have been to this year, or how much you have given to your church or other noble organizations. What you should look for is checks you have written to universities, conferences, book stores and the like.

Now look at your calendar and find all the events you penciled in for educational and growth opportunities. This can include Bible study or other prayer groups, workshops such as “Called and Gifted,” conferences such as the “Midwest Catholic Family Conference,” adoration, a retreat, or even Marriage Encounter.

Some of these cost money and some do not, but the point is, they all take time. They are all deliberate choices made to gain something.

Think of the more spiritual persons you know. What are they doing to get the level of success they have? They work at it! Any successful business, job or marriage becomes that way by working at it: learning, growing, changing, getting better, looking for ways to improve. Whether it is spiritual books you choose to read, or a noon bible study, the purpose is to grow. Through those activities you become open to God ... open to all his goodness.

First and foremost, opening the gifts God has given you begins at his table. The Eucharist should be the first step you take on the journey. If you are already attending Mass regularly or will begin attending regularly, it is time to look outside the walls of the physical building. What else is out there that can help you grow in Christ? The resources available are numerous. Many parishes have libraries with a variety of books, videos, and activities designed to bring you closer to Christ -- not to mention all the resources offered on the internet. If a program is not available, start it. Your pastor and office staff would be delighted to have a new program that has a built in minister.

Surround yourself with people on the same journey. My family and I have a wonderful group of people who are our support system outside of Mass. We are free to speak of Christ’s goodness and we encourage each other to do so. Those intimate gatherings allow each one of us to see that we all have similar experiences, needs, wants, and desires as we grow closer to God. These people have revealed to us some of the gifts we did not know we have. A value cannot be place on relationships like that.

Below are six questions to ask when discerning your talents and unwrapping your gifts.

1. What is my occupation, vocation, or profession?

2. What additional skills, talents, or interests do I have?

3. What are my hobbies? What do I like to do in my spare time?

4. What skills or talents do I have because of my hobbies?

5. What kinds of skills, talents, or abilities do my friends and family members tell me I have?

6. What are some specific needs in my community that I know I could help meet?

(Stewardship A Parish Handbook, C. Justin Clemens, 7-8)

I cannot reinforce enough that our Christianity is a process. Our gifts may not be discovered immediately; give it time. Begin where you are at. Begin with interests and abilities you already have. Use them for the glory of God and give him thanks for his gift.

Aug. 12 -- Stewardship 404: Time and Talent

By Eric Haselhorst

Associate Director of Stewardship

By now, readers may begin to see common themes among these columns. You may even notice they overlap. Many of these concepts of stewardship, vocation, and discipleship can be pictured as three overlapping circles with Christ in the middle. At any point in our life, one circle may be bigger than another, but as you grow into Jesus, equilibrium can be found.

Let us spend a few moments with our time and talent. It is fitting both are visited together. In many instances, our talents require time to perform. Time is the most precious gift we have. Ask any person with grey hair or no hair and they no longer have many of the worries as someone half their age.

With age, we become increasingly aware of the amount of earthly time we have. But we still have 8,760 hours in a 365-day year. Deduct the time we sleep, work, eat, watch TV, surf the internet, and many of us are left with six to seven hours of disposable time. How we use that time is delineated by the priorities we attach to all the extra activities we add to our busy schedules. Soccer games, football practice, dance recitals, karate lessons, races, home improvements, hobbies… the list goes on.

The question is, where does your spiritual life fall into the allotment of time? An hour per week is good, but is that good enough? Today is a good day to reflect on all the demands placed on our time. What of all our activities are bringing us closer to Christ and are reflected by us? What needs to be added and what needs to be stopped?

As talents are discovered and nurtured, a natural phenomenon will occur. A desire will begin to grow and a want will ensue to share those talents with all around you.

That is exactly what a steward does, evaluates their life and moves towards those activities and expenditures of time to the honor of God. This will demand that some of the very noble things you do through the course of a week or year stop. That is OK. We sometimes need to stop very good activities to gain better understanding of God’s plan for us.

As my wife and I considered our move to Dodge City, we belabored over the fact that many of the relationships we have would change; the school we loved would change; we would no longer have grandparents and other family in our backyard. But God is calling us to a greater understanding of His plan for us. It takes a considerable amount of trust in the Lord and a vulnerability to turn one’s life over to Christ, but the rewards are fantastic.

Again, when evaluating your schedule, look at all the personal activities you and your families participate in; consider the extent God plays a role in all that is done.

Many times I have heard people say, “I don’t have any particular talents.” If that is true, why did God make you? Consider 1 Corinthians 12:14-20: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good…. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each on individually just as the Spirit chooses.

Of course you have talents; they are simply not recognized or understood. Not all of us are lectors or religious education teachers but we all have some gift to give. It may be as simple as writing a condolence card to a parishioner who lost a loved one, or sending a gift basket to a person in Iraq. Your child could mow the grass all summer at no charge for a family whose spouse is overseas or for the single mom down the street. It is a sacrificial and joyful sharing of that talent that makes the difference.

Ask the church office what the needs are and ask yourself, “What of these activities fits what I already know how to do?” The wheel does not need to be recreated. God gave you gifts, use them make him smile, nine chances out of 10 you will too.