Stewardship Today

LINKS WE RECOMMEND

Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge
http://www.diobr.org

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops
http://usccb.org

The Vatican Website
http://www.vatican.va

Diocese of Baton Rouge Office of Stewardship
http://www.officeofstewardship.com

More Local, Regional and National Links...

CATHOLIC SAINTS ON STEWARDSHIP

From St. Teresa of Avila:

“The most potent and acceptable prayer is the prayer that leaves the best effects. I don’t mean it must immediately fill the soul with desire. The best effects are those that are followed up by actions—when the soul not only desires the honor of God, but really strives for it.”

Meaningful Catholic Communion in This Unique Season of Life

priest

Richard Meek, Editor and General Manager of The Catholic Commentator recently asked Father Paul Yi, Chancellor for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, about this unique season. The Catholic faithful will experience Holy Week without the many customary opportunities to gather and celebrate the Eucharist. “Not being able to receive the holy Communion is a great sadness for the faithful because, receiving the holy Eucharist is the center and joy of their lives,” Father Yi said. “When we cannot unite with Christ in sacramental communion, saints of the church advise that we unite with Christ by making a spiritual communion.”

Thankfully, in the Diocese of Baton Rouge—as is likely true throughout the Catholic community worldwide—faithful Catholics have excellent options to help do just that. In the greater capital region, visit CatholicLife Television and Catholic Community Radio, at www.catholiclifetv.org and www.catholiccommunityradio.org to discover many ways to connect with others every day.

THE STEWARD'S BOOKSHELF

Recommended Resources
for Reflection and Study

Please visit “The Steward’s Bookshelf”
for additional recommendations.

Click Here

NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWS

LOCAL DIOCESAN NEWS

Televised Mass

Catholic Life Television broadcasts the Tuesday Midday Mass, live from St. Joseph Cathedral at 12 Noon, and rebroadcasts the service at 6 PM and 10:30 PM. Visit www.catholiclifetv.org for a variety of daily Catholic programming.

Diocesan News Page

The Diocese and COVID-19

nurses

In the third century, St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote, “God is One, and Christ is One, and One is His Church. The faith is one, and His people are welded together by the glue of concord. Unity cannot be rent asunder, nor can the one body of the Church.” From the Lombardy region of northwest Italy to Louisiana’s coastal parishes, that glue and the joy of Christian fellowship have been challenged by the coronavirus in ways many Catholics have never experienced.

It is essential that we maintain our treasured connections in whatever ways promote the health of our faith while ensuring the health of our parishioners. The Diocese of Baton Rouge has established multiple links to assist with those aims, and online visitors can access very helpful information, communication tools and resources from the diocese at the following link: http://coronavirus.diobr.org/

You will find announcements from Bishop Michael G. Duca; diocesan news—including links to The Catholic Commentator; information concerning the Mass as well as a variety of devotional resources; news from the Catholic Schools office, Catholic Charities, and the office of Evangelization & Catechesis; plus links to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the Vatican.

STEWARDSHIP IN SCRIPTURE

“ ‘Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His mercy ensures forever!’ ” Let that be the prayer of the Lord’s redeemed, those redeemed from the hand of the foe, those gathered from foreign lands, from east and west, from north and south.”

(Psalm 107:1-3; New American Bible, Revised Edition)

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Shepherd’s Rod, Shepherd’s Staff

From the Stewardship Today Archives, April 2011

The baton-wielding orchestra leader is a model of direction defined, in part, by the presence of a master commander who carries a stick. An extension of the conductor’s own arm, the baton assists in directing dozens of skilled individuals able to achieve collective goals because they focus attention on the one who knows the journey ahead better than anyone, and the worthy conductor is faithful to lead. In David’s ever-popular Twenty-Third Psalm, a shepherd mirrors the care and protection of the Almighty, and his staff serves as the mark of leadership too....read more

Download Stewardship Today Free

For the convenience of our readers, a four-page, abridged set of monthly Stewardship Today articles is available as a downloadable PDF file.

Download the PDF Version

Planned Giving

Getting Ready for Tax Time

Though filing deadlines have been extended for several months, for many of us tax season is already here. Now is an ideal time to gather paperwork and prepare to file your 2019 taxes. Below, you’ll find some tips to help you prepare for your tax appointment and ensure that you get the most out of your giving.

April 2020

Stewardship: A Louisiana Legacy

Please Support the BAA

hope

Hope in the Lord. No matter the struggles we face, Jesus Christ is our hope and greater than any perceived difficulty or challenge. Our lives are a gift from God and, in gratitude, we acknowledge that all we do as faithful Catholics is motivated by our confidence in the salvation God promises the Church, his children.

Please join Bishop Michael G. Duca, whose motto echoes this year’s theme. Your generous gifts in support of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal express your love for God and will help meet the needs of others who see Christ in you. Hold fast to the faith. Hope in the Lord. And please give in support of the BAA.

BAA Brochure ...read more
Letter from Bishop Michael G. Duca ...read more

The Stewardship of Prayer

Are You the King?

“I am the resurrection and the life,” Jesus said. “I am the gate and the shepherd for the sheep.” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” “I and the Father are one.” Who was Jesus? Who is Jesus? The most cursory reading of the Gospels provides dozens of suitable answers, and Jesus answered the question over and over again himself. For that reason, what transpired the evening of his betrayal is particularly interesting. On that auspicious night, Jesus left the great question unanswered, and the Lord’s silence puzzled the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. . . .read more

Light of the World ... read more

The Stewardship of Ministry

In the Likeness of Christ

“Christianity is an imitation of God’s nature,” said St. Gregory of Nyssa. St. Paul wrote of a transformation into that likeness. “All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18). As faithful Catholic parishioners, we follow the Lord’s example, humbly and selflessly committed to honor God by serving others, “each looking out, not for personal interests, but everyone for those of others” (Philippians 2:3b-4). Humility and selflessness: Jesus Christ’s calling and his attitude in life. It is to be our own. . . .read more

Chosen of God ... read more

The Stewardship of Finance

Seeing Is Believing

Technological advances of the highest order at first seem preposterous, quite beyond belief. In 1895, one of the leading scientific minds of the nineteenth century, Sir William Thompson said, “Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” Eight years later, Orville and Wilbur Wright proved him wrong. Honored with a peerage, Thompson is universally known as Lord Kelvin. With a wink, a NASA administrator more recently commented on Kelvin’s assessment. “Rumor has it Lord Kelvin was slightly in error.” When the Wright brothers’ plane lifted from the sands of Kitty Hawk, the impossible became possible, and Lord Kelvin lived long enough to see it. Seeing is believing.. . .read more

Where Else Could We Go? ... read more

“We must pray literally without ceasing—without ceasing. In every occurrence and employment of our lives. You know I mean that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is, rather, a habit of lifting up the heart to God, as in a constant communication with him.”””

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

“Confession heals, confession justifies, confession grants pardon of sin, all hope consists in confession. In confession, there is a chance for mercy.””

St. Isidore of Seville

“God, who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls.”””

St. Francis de Sales