Stewards: Follow Jesus in word and action
April 8, 2025
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SUGAR LAND — “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy!”
This Responsorial Psalm, proclaimed in our parishes this season, contains a great truth: It is the Lord who does great things for us. Everything we think of as “ours” is given to us by God: Our lives, our families, our talents, our jobs, our homes, our health, this beautiful world — and yes — our next breath.
All is a gift. As Catholic Christians, we believe this and are filled with gladness and joy.
What, then, is our response to God? Hopefully, we recognize and receive His abundant gifts gratefully, cherish and tend them responsibly, share with others lovingly, and return “with increase” to the Lord.
This is what Jesus asked of us and, as His disciples, this is our response. The word for this response is “stewardship,” which, most simply put, is what we do when we say we believe.
Stewardship, therefore, encompasses so much more than what we choose to put in the Sunday Offertory. Stewardship is ultimately a way of life. It is the way we “live and move and have our being.”
Stewards among us
Look around your own parish. I bet you recognize the stewards among you and know them by name. They are the people in your parish who are grateful, generous, kindhearted, willing, responsible and accountable. Each has made a conscious decision to follow Jesus and this is the decision that defines their actions and their lives.
Their desire to show up and share their time, talent and treasure with your parish is centered in their love of Christ. Jesus is the reason for their cheerful giving. This is why they are so dependable, even when they are going through personal hardship. It’s because they understand that all is a gift, and their natural response is based in gratitude.
Growing a stewardship parish
Every pastor would love a parish of cheerful givers. Can you imagine? People working cheerfully side-by-side, each using their own God-given talents in a unique way to build the Kingdom, sharing freely of their time and resources, and serving others with patience, love and dignity. It sounds like heaven.
Yet we can experience this bit of heaven on earth in our own parishes. As a shepherd of his flock, a pastor can inspire his parish to grow in discipleship and stewardship through his leadership, vision, messaging and good example. Each will have his own way of doing this, but what our priests have in common is a conscious decision to give their lives fully to God and His Church. These men are living examples of discipleship, so let’s follow the leader.
We can also learn from one another. Here in the Archdiocese, a grassroots group of people committed to stewardship as a way of life has been meeting for 14 years. Every other month, the Stewardship Networking Group gathers in a different parish in the Houston metro area to share ideas and best practices for growing stewardship in our parishes. These meetings are open to everyone and include clergy, people from parish staff and laypeople who serve in parish leadership and ministry. Join us at the next Stewardship Networking Group meeting on Thursday, May 8, at St. Laurence.
Each summer, our Archdiocese hosts a Parish Engagement Conference featuring national and local stewardship leaders who inspire attendees with fresh ideas and valuable resources. The conference fee is affordable for anyone who wishes to attend, and there is no charge for clergy.
Each fall, the International Catholic Stewardship Council (ICSC) sponsors a conference that attracts clergy and laypeople from around the world. This year, the 63rd annual ICSC Stewardship Conference is Sept. 21 to 24 in Chicago. Our Archdiocese is a member, so if your pastor and others from your parish are interested in attending, contact Michael Schillaci in the Chancery Development Office to get the member rate.
Stewardship: A way of life
Today, make a conscious decision to follow Jesus and be His disciple. Learn from the clergy and cheerful givers in our midst. Take advantage of opportunities offered right here in Galveston-Houston to grow a culture of stewardship in your own family and parish. Your decision will define your life and transform your parish and the lives of those you love for generations.
Our Lord has done great things for us. How can we best respond with gladness and joy?
Sharon Ehrenkranz is a founding member of the Stewardship Networking Group in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston and is the director of Parish Life at St. Laurence Parish in Sugar Land, winner of the 2019 Archbishop Thomas J. Murphy Parish Stewardship Award.