The idea of a horoscope or a fortune is simple: Make the message vague enough to allow the human mind to relate whatever is written to an event or to something in one’s life so it looks prophetic. I’m sure by now you’re thinking something along the lines of 1) What does this have to do with stewardship?; or 2) Am I mistakenly reading Dave Myers column instead? No, you’re not in Dave’s space, he’s much more humorous, but I will attempt to relate stewardship to this topic.

My fortune was "Don’t forget to do good deeds as you accumulate wealth." Of course everyone had a comment about the finance guy getting this fortune. However, the message can very easily be used as an opportunity to write about stewardship in our daily lives. I would suggest that all of us, at one time or another has lost the focus of our relationship with God in lieu of the desire to accumulate material goods. This lost focus prevents us from the real message of stewardship, which is built upon an ongoing spiritual relationship with Jesus in which we listen attentively to His plan for our lives and then courageously carry out that plan through the actions of our lives. Focusing on our own plans, our own accumulation of wealth and material goods, prevents each of us from doing the good deeds that the gifts of our God-given time and talents demand of us.

Stewardship for me has been and continues to be an evolving (perhaps elusive) understanding of God’s master plan for my life and for those around me. It is not a static process whereby we are taught a prescribed curriculum, then don’t ever have to revisit the topic again. The stewardship education process is ever changing, and as Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, "Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." Those who choose to impose an arbitrary end to this learning process are cheating themselves and others. Those who choose to continue to stretch their minds, open to the events around them, open to the voice of God gently guiding their actions, will recognize this lifelong journey and will live it to the fullest.

The annual budget for the diocese is included in this issue of the Register, as is the information for the upcoming Stewardship Conference. I hope you will spend time looking over both sections as both are important in the ministry and life of the Diocesan Church. The conference, as I indicated in the last column, will be held on August 27 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe. I know schedules are hectic and busy during this time of the year, but I can assure you that the time will be well spent and if you attend and you don’t feel the same way, I will be happy to refund your registration fee.

The budget outlines the ministry priorities of the diocese for the coming years and allocates your generous support to each of these areas. It is important that you know how your gifts are being utilized and that is the purpose of this information. Thank you to all of you who do generously support the mission of our Catholic faith at the parish, diocese, and greater church level. Your support is appreciated and your continuing support, both in prayer and in treasure, is needed.

In closing, we all have many fortune cookies presented to us each day of our lives. Some will be completely useless, but others will actually cause us to stop, if only for a moment, to think about what deeper meaning might be hidden within. If we continue to spend time regularly listening to Jesus in prayer, we will expand our stewardship vision during these times as we journey along on this ride.