St. Thomas More Catholic Church Weekly Bulletin 2014-04-13 Palm Sunday | Page 8

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship

One who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible and
accountable manner, shares them with justice and love with others, and returns them with
increase to the Lord.

Stewardship

• is not about giving because the church has needs
• is not about getting people to fill our ministries
• is not about fulfilling some obligation to avoid guilt
• is not about keeping up with our neighbors

Stewardship

• is about understanding everything is a gift from God
• is about knowing that God has given us these gifts for which to care
• is about being aware that God expects us to share generously
these gifts out of gratitude!

Stewards Find Hope in the Cross

Do you ever think about how you experience
the cross of Jesus Christ? Do you ever think about
the power of that cross in your daily life? Is the
cross even relevant to your life? It is to stewards
of the Lord, who recognize the hope Christ brings
through the gift of his cross. They acknowledge
that for them, the cross is their only hope.
Being good stewards of our life in Christ is not
easy, but to embrace the cross is not only countercultural, it seems absurd. Then again, we cannot avoid what Jesus said to his disciples: “If you
wish to come after me you must deny yourself
and take up your cross daily and follow me. For
if you wish to save your life, you will lose it; but
if you lose your life for my sake you will save it”
(Luke 9:23-24).
What is preached about the cross from the pulpit sounds good, but in reality something
more tangible is desired.
The cross is more readily embraced by people of faith who suffer, are poor, broken, or are
the victims of such things as violence, oppression or natural disasters. They see the cross as
the hope that no matter what has happened to them, God will see them through. The Father
did it for Jesus who hung on the cross, so surely their sufferings will be redeemed by Jes \