St. Cecilia
Total Stewardship

A Way of Life - Prayer, Ministry, Finance

Who is a Catholic Steward?

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

TOTAL STEWARDSHIP?PRAYER, MINISTRY,
FINANCE
Traditional literature on stewardship uses three categories: time, talent and treasure.
However, we at St. Cecilia Parish believe that our total stewardship focus should not only
be on giving of our time and talent and treasures, but also needs to include taking
time to communicate with the Lord, thus, Total Stewardship must include Prayer,
Ministry and Finance.

STEWARDSHIP OF PRAYER
The Stewardship of Prayer calls us to COMMIT some time each day in
communication with God, whether it be in individual prayer or prayer with others, as a
Family or as a Parish Community.

STEWARDSHIP OF MINISTRY
The Stewardship of Ministry reminds us that everyone, me and you, has something
to give. And not only that we all have something to give, but we want to give of
our time, talent, wisdom, and expertise to others - to our families, to our neighbors,
to our parish, to our local community, to the world.

STEWARDSHIP OF FINANCE
The Stewardship of Finance calls us to remember that sacrificial giving is a part of
Total Stewardship. Jesus, Himself, saw this demonstrated by the poor widow (Luke's
21:3-4), who gave more than she could afford, not because she had to, but because she
wanted to. Over and over in the Gospel Jesus tells us that why we give is more important
than what we give.

GRATITUDE
"THE BEGINNING OF TOTAL STEWARDSHIP"
The core of Catholic Stewardship is Gratitude. Saying, "Thank You" to God,
who has given all things to us, is perhaps a good first step in showing our gratitude. But
God does not expect us to stop there. By developing our gifts and then sharing them
with others, we give back to the Lord the many gifts and blessings that he has
bestowed on each of us.

INVITING THE GIFTS: OUR CALL TO TOTAL
STEWARDSHIP
With Total Stewardship, we invite the gifts of prayer, ministry, and finance from all
members of the parish community. Our commitment to Total Stewardship will help to
further the many ministries and overall mission of St. Cecilia Parish.