Come to Know the Lord Through Prayer

In the fourth installment in my series on The Pillars of Parish Stewardship — the 2004 document published by the stewardship office of the Diocese of Wichita — we take an in-depth look at the third pillar: prayer.

Along with the Four Pillars of Stewardship, we also make constant reference to the three Ts of stewardship, recognizing that to truly live as a stewardship people we must give God the first fruits of our Time, our Talent, and our Treasure. It is easy for us to see the concrete reality of the latter two. To give God our Talents, we must first recognize with what talents He has blessed us, and then use those talents for His greater glory. On the same token, our money is something concrete, and when we recognize it as a gift from God, we are to give a certain amount back to Him. For many of us, it is easy to understand what it means to give God our talent and our treasure. But what does it mean to give God a portion of our time? This idea is much harder to grasp, and, yet, giving to God the first fruits of our time is just as important as the other two. In fact, if we understand and implement it properly, our stewardship of time will serve as the very foundation from which our stewardship of talent and stewardship of treasure bear fruit.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father.” ~ Pope Francis.

As most of us know by now, Pope Francis convened a Holy Year of Mercy on Tuesday December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. When the Holy Father introduced the Holy Year, he encouraged us to begin by going to confession. It seems obvious that if this Holy Year is to include expressions of mercy to a world in need, it should begin with receiving God’s mercy in the Sacrament. The Pope will certainly be confessing his sins as will your pastor!In a special way, the Holy Father reached out to post-abortive men and women who often endure years, even decades, of pain and guilt over a decision that was made in an altered value system whereby they were told that what was wrong was right and vice-versa. It simply derails the lives of so many who believe that God will never forgive them. God’s mercy is greater than your greatest sin!

Dear Bothers and Sisters,

On March 13, 2015, the second anniversary of his election as the Successor of Peter, Pope Francis announced the Extraor- dinary Holy Year. This is the first Holy Year to celebrate not an anniversary of some kind, but the attribute of God the Father which is most exalted in both the Old and the New Testaments: His Mercy. Pope Francis has also given the world a theme song for the Year of Mercy. He asks that we learn and sing this hymn throughout the coming Year of Mercy during Mass.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The popular Christmas movie, It's a Wonderful Life, illustrates, in a beautiful way, part of God's plan for each one of us. It is also a clear example of God’s mercy.