Grateful Discipleship: Mistakes I Learned from - Ignoring the Third T of Stewardship

The Grateful Discipleship initiative which we have all been learning about is an initial step in creating a culture of stewardship among our parishioners and in our parishes. A culture of Christian stewardship is a culture in which we encourage and support one another in believing that all that we have, including life itself, is a gift from God. Acknowledging that all that we have and all that we are is a gift from God leads us to make gifts of time, talent, and treasure to God through Christ and His Church. These gifts to God are planned, proportionate, grateful, and joyful.

During my early years of priestly ministry, I did not give much thought to the treasure part of time, talent, and treasure. I rationalized this neglect of being generous with my money and material goods by thinking to myself, “I am giving my life to Christ and His Church as a priest; I do not need to give my money.” Challenged by clergy and laity who were generous with their money and material goods and gently encouraged by a few brother priests, I was led to the truth that two Ts (time and talent) were not enough, I needed to consider the third T (treasure) and open my financial life to the light of Christ.

I began making planned (intentional) gifts to the parishes to which I was assigned. The gifts are planned in that I decided to give a set amount each month.  While the core of my Catholic Church giving is planned, that leaves the door open to spontaneous gifts as needs arise and opportunities present themselves. My planned giving expanded to include a monthly gift to the Catholic Appeal, the annual appeal for the Central Ministries of the Archdiocese of Boston, on behalf of each parish in my assignment at the time. We will soon begin the 2024 Catholic Appeal so please begin to consider that. I have also grown my Catholic Church giving to include monthly gifts to St. John Seminary, where I received my initial formation for priestly ministry, and the Clergy Trust, which provides for the health and retirement needs of Archdiocesan priests, active and senior, who are in good standing. You contribute to the seminaries through the Special Collection at Pentecost and to the Clergy Trust through the Christmas and Easter collections, a special collection in September, and an annual assessment for each priest assigned to the parishes. All my planned Catholic Church giving is done electronically, which is the best way for me to be consistent and committed to my plan.

I review my core Catholic Church giving annually. This year I am using the introduction of the Grateful Discipleship initiative in our parishes to review and plan my Catholic Church giving for 2024. Please see below for a summary of my Catholic Church giving for 2023 and my plans for 2024 because of Grateful Discipleship. I do this not to show off, because my financial giving is not what I want it to be but I am working on it. Rather, I want to offer you a glimpse into how one priest, your pastor, handles the third T of stewardship – treasure. As you will notice, I have simplified my gifts to my current parishes by planning ahead and incorporating my 2024 Grand Annual gifts into what will now be my one monthly gift to each parish. My current financial resources allow me to increase my gifts to my parishes. My other core Catholic Church giving will remain steady for 2024. I have also decided to add a monthly gift to our local Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, to assist them in helping local residents with basic living needs and a gift through each parish for nine special collections that parishes throughout the Archdiocese take up to assist in the universal needs of the Catholic Church throughout the world. I have not contributed to these collections in the past.

My total core Catholic Church giving will be about 10% of my annual salary. However, I am still working to give more because I know I receive generous benefits of room-and-board, health insurance, car insurance assistance, and funds for an annual retreat. I do also contribute to some nonprofit organizations that are not the Church or Church-related.

I encourage you to make a planned, proportionate, grateful, and joyful gift of your time, talent, and, yes, the third T, treasure for 2024 and beyond! I look forward to celebrating all the commitments made when we gather on February 10 and 11 for Discipleship Weekend and Mardi Gras!