O Faithful Stewards!

What is our reason for living? One of our duties on earth is to be faithful stewards of God’s creations. We live for a purpose greater than ourselves.

Therefore, what do we need to succeed in our faithful stewardship? We need to love God with all our strength, mind, heart, and soul, and love one another as God loves each of us. This love is our driving force. It is the inspiration that sets our priorities in life.

For Freedom’s Sake

For this love to flourish in our stewardship, we must fight off temptations of sin and protect our God-given freedom. “Sin is an abuse of the freedom that God gives to created persons so that they are capable of loving him and loving one another” [CCC 387]. Therefore, God gives us every opportunity to repent our sins.

Repentance is our shield that protects and preserves our freedom and love from irreparable harm in order to carry out our stewardship. Although Baptism washes away our original sin, that sin has weakened human nature. As a result, we are still prone to disobey our Lord, obscuring our purpose in life. By that first sin—“man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command” [CCC 397].

Indeed, repentance is a vital necessity. Disobedience prevents us from seeing and believing that we are truly redeemable in God’s eyes! In other words, God does not give up on us. That fact should be enough reason for living as God’s faithful stewards. Our repentance keeps our loving trust in God alive.

Look Forward with Hope

Because our lives and our world can be redeemed, we have reason for hope. As faithful stewards, we are called to pray for the conversion of sinners. We are called to make sacrifices for the salvation of souls. Do we think it is not worth the effort to offer up our time, talent, and treasure for God’s sake? We need only to look at Jesus Christ for the answer.

God-made-man came into the world. In his great love for humanity, he sacrificed himself for our salvation. His life, death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven tell us it is worth the effort. If life in this world seems bleak right now, it is because so many have abandoned God in their hearts. They have forgotten their reason for living. They have given up their faith and their stewardship.

Remember, our faithful stewardship on earth, according to God’s plan, leads us to eternal life in Heaven. That can only happen with an open heart that does not harden. Mary, our Blessed Mother, is a beautiful model of opening her loving heart to all people. Throughout the centuries, the apparitions of the Mother of God remind us that with an open heart, we have Heaven on earth.

From Heaven, our Lord sends his loving graces and blessings into our hearts and souls to guide us in our thoughts, words, and deeds. With that daily guidance, by way of the Holy Spirit, we see that when we stop offending God, we stop offending one another. And when we stop offending one another, we stop offending God. As God’s stewards, loving and living faithfully, we keep hope alive, giving us peace on earth. Our reason for living is truly worth the effort. Amen!