Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

Recovering Christian Stewardship from Secular Fundraising 17
Steward—the model we are called to imitate.
Doubtless, our journey as stewards, much like Christ’s journey,
will be punctuated by particular milestones—moments of sacrifice
or special generosity which will stand out always in our lives, or
perhaps of learning or insight which (to use a peculiarly Catholic
term) “form” us as stewards. Perhaps a Sunday School teacher will
encourage in us an indelible desire to share, or a catechist deepen our
sense of gratitude for blessings we have not earned. As adults, we
may find ourselves moved by a sermon, enriched by the gift of our
time and talent as volunteers, or changed by our participation in a
special collection or capital campaign. With each of these
experiences we learn, and yet, none of them can ever represent the
full attainment of our vocation to stewardship whereby we seek to
emulate Christ in the totality of his salvific self-offering.
Here is why. Good stewardship is not predicated on a single act.
No vocation is. While the act of ordination may make someone a
priest or minister, for example, we would not consider this a
fulfillment of that person’s vocation, but rather a single milestone in
living out his or her life “in orders.” Nor can we achieve the fullness
of our vocation as good stewards by a single act of generosity. Indeed,
it most often works the other way round: being a good steward is
what compels us to a life filled with singular acts of generosity.
As our lives evolve, then, so should our understanding and
practice of stewardship. Just as we pray to deepen our faith, or to
better understand what God calls us to be in life, so we must also
continually work to discern our vocation as stewards. Anyone who
has engaged in the life of prayer knows that the more we pray, the
deeper our prayer life becomes. The stewardship journey is no
different: the more deeply we engage in it, the better we understand
it, and the better we understand it, the more richly we are called to
participate in the redemptive ministry of Jesus Christ.
The essence of stewardship is that it transcends the cumulative
learning and experience of its various milestones. That is, it is more