Labor Day Weekend marked one year since my arrival in Latrobe and, looking back through my files, I see that it was on this weekend last year that I wrote my first column as pastor of Holy Family and St. John. I would like to think that I did keep the promise I made in that column to spend those early weeks and months listening and observing, and, as I have gotten to know the parishes and as you have gotten to know me, we have had a very good year. Even though we’ve had some hiccups along the way, as expected, and we’ve experienced some goings and comings among the staff at each parish, our ministries have been strengthened, we’ve welcomed new families to our parishes, and we’ve grown together as partner parishes.
As I begin my second year, I look forward to building upon our strengths and successes as well as learning from my/our “hiccups”. I hope to work with the staffs and the lay leadership of each parish in the months ahead to discern where and how the Holy Spirit is calling us to go forward. So, for the blessings of the past year, let us give thanks to God. And as we go forward, let us pray that with the Father’s providential care, nourished by Christ, and directed by the Holy Spirit we may continue to do the work of the Church: being Christ to one another and building the Kingdom one day at a time.
One of the areas I want to focus on over the coming year is stewardship. Too many times, priests and bishops use the word “stewardship” simply to talk about finances or as a code word for increased offertory. While treasure is one dimension of stewardship, it’s only one dimension. Stewardship should be understood as, “moral responsibility for the careful use of money, time, talents, or other resources, especially with respect to the principles or needs of a community or group.” Every one of us has been blessed by God with gifts of time, talent, and treasure; our call as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ is to offer these gifts in lives of humble and faithful service. In 2003, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a letter entitled, Stewardship and Young Adults. In it they make clear that stewardship is not simply making donations or taking care of the building and grounds. It is a spirituality—hence a way of life—made of 4 parts:
· Receiving the gifts of God with gratitude
· Cultivating them responsibly
· Sharing them lovingly in justice with others
· Standing before the Lord in a spirit of accountability
Perhaps this is a good place for us to begin. I encourage you, not only as it relates to our parishes, but as it relates to your families and other relationships, to reflect upon the points above that we may fashion that spirituality of gratitude that is true Christian stewardship.
On Saturday the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Matthew, apostle and evangelist. We have little biographical information about Matthew, beyond the fact that he was a tax collector. Tradition says he began preaching in Judea and then went on to Ethiopia, Persia, Syria, Macedonia, and possibly even Ireland. The Church fathers of early centuries considered the Gospel of Matthew to be the oldest written gospel, which is why they placed it first in the New Testament. More recently, biblical scholars have concluded that Mark’s gospel is older than Matthew’s (actually, both Matthew and Luke borrowed extensively from Mark in writing their own gospels). Matthew the evangelist draws not only on Mark’s gospel account, but several other sources as well in writing a gospel account originally intended for an audience made up primarily of early Jewish Christians.
While the Gospel of Matthew provides us with images of Jesus as healer and miracle worker, the primary image that emerges is of Jesus the Teacher. It is Matthew’s gospel which gives us the Sermon on the Mount, which begins with the version of the Beatitudes that we are most familiar with and the words of the Our Father we pray day in and day out. It is only Matthew who tells the story of Magi at Jesus’ birth and who gives us the account of Jesus proclaiming Peter the rock upon whom the Church will be built. St. Matthew, pray for us!
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