Bulletin Inserts
Archbishop Carlson’s 2012 Stewardship Goal
“Let us focus on generosity, or returning God’s gifts with increase,
through the generous sharing of our time, talent and treasure.”
It is recommended that all parishes include a stewardship reflection each week in their bulletin,
to encourage parishioners to more generously share their time, talent and treasure.
To have the reflections emailed to you before each new quarter, email Dave Baranowski
Stewardship Bulletin Reflections
April 2012 thru June 2012
March 18, 2012
4th Sunday of Lent
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” - JOHN 3:16
Of all the wonderful gifts that God has given to us, the gift of His own Son is truly the greatest. How can we ever thank God for a gift like that? God does not ask us to sacrifice our own precious firstborn, but He does ask that we be generous in making some sacrifices for Him.
March 25, 2012
5th Sunday of Lent
“I will be their God and they shall be my people.” - JEREMIAH 31:33
What does it mean to be God’s people? It means that first we recognize that everything we have and everything we are truly belongs to God. It also means that we are willing to use our gifts and our lives to care for the world just as God cares for us.
April 1, 2012
Palm Sunday
“If anyone should say to you ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’”- MARK 11:3
“Why are you doing this?” This is a question that could be asked of anyone who gives time, talent or treasure to the Church. An answer is found in the Gospel of Mark, “The Master has need of it…” We are all called to give because Our Lord has need of it.
April 8, 2012
Easter Sunday
"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever.” - PSALM 118:1
On this day we thank God for His Son, Jesus, who died and arose for us. We celebrate and sing “Alleluia.” But how do we show our gratitude all year to the Lord who spread out His arms on the cross to save us and show us the way to salvation?
April 15, 2012
2nd Sunday of Easter
“The community of believers was of one heart and mind and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own.” - ACTS 4:32
Stewardship calls us to recognize, just as the early Christians did, that none of our possessions is our own. All that we have – our health, our education, our skills, our talents, and our livelihood – are gifts from God. The natural reaction when someone gives you a gift is to want to give something back. What do you give back to God?
April 22, 2012
3rd Sunday of Easter
“Then he said to them, ‘Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts. Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself.” - LUKE 24:38-39
These words from the Risen Christ are good advice when we are troubled or doubtful about our stewardship decisions. Just look at the hands and feet of the Lord. How can we refuse to be the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth now when He sacrificed His entire body for us?
April 29, 2012
4th Sunday of Easter
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” - PSALM 118: 8-9
Too often our society trains us to take refuge in man-made riches. Yet Thomas Merton once wrote, “There is no poverty so great as that of the prosperous.” Too many possessions can leave us empty - always questing for more things that do not really matter - while we ignore Our Lord.
May 6, 2012
5th Sunday of Easter
“Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.” - 1 JOHN 3:18
How do we love in deed and truth? The answer is through stewardship – giving some of our time to spend with Our Lord in prayer, giving some of our talents to do ministry in the parish, giving some of our financial blessings to support the work of the Church.
May 13, 2012
6th Sunday of Easter
“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” - JOHN 15:12-13
Do you love Jesus? Do you consider Him your friend? Jesus says that if we love Him we should be willing to offer whatever we have to Him, not because we want praise and glory, but simply because we love Him.
May 20, 2012
Ascension of Our Lord
“This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.” - ACTS 1:11
How strong is your faith? Do you believe that Jesus will return? In the Gospel Jesus tells us that He will return and when He does He will separate us into sheep and goats, depending on how much we used our blessings to help those in need. So how strong is your faith? The answer can be found in how much you give.
May 27, 2012
Pentecost Sunday
“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” - 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4-6
By giving each of us different gifts, God made sure that the Church would have the combination of talent and treasure that was needed to do God’s work. However, what happens if one of us does not bring our contribution to God’s altar? God’s plan is not fulfilled. Some important work is left undone.
June 3, 2012
Feast of the Holy Trinity
“The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…” - ROMANS 8:16-17
If we are heirs to the kingdom of God, should we not work to build up that kingdom? Should we not be good stewards of our inheritance, using our time, talent and treasure to care for the Church that God has left to us? Our Church is a treasured heirloom from God. Do we treat it that way?
June 10, 2012
Feast of Corpus Christi
“Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them and they all drank from it.” - MARK 14:23
Jesus, the perfect steward, gave thanks, just before He gave Himself to us completely for our salvation. He offered us the chance to drink from His cup. In Eucharist we meet Christ personally and, if we listen to Him, we will know what drinking from His cup means for each of us. Often it means our own sacrifice – giving up some of our time, talent and treasure to do His work on earth.
June 17, 2012
11thSunday in Ordinary Time
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.” - 2 CORINTHIANS 5:10
We are accountable for the gifts God has given us on Earth – our time, talent and treasure. One day each of us will be asked by God what we did with those gifts. How will you respond?
June 24, 2012
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
“…but after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.” - ACTS 13:25
Stewardship is recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God. We can take credit for nothing. Do you take time daily to thank God for the gifts you have received? Do you show gratitude to God every day? Are you generous without expecting anything in return?