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. Augustine of Hippo:

“The Apostle Paul declares love to be greater than the other two graces, that is greater than faith and hope. For when there is a question as to whether a man is good, we don’t ask what he believes or what he hopes, we ask what he loves.”

Catholic Life Television

In the area of personal spiritual formation, Catholic television programming is an honored benefit. Why not begin the new year by sifting the Catholic Life Television schedule, that you might merge your weekly calendar and your favorite programs? The mission of Catholic Life Television affirms that wise plan: “to serve as an effective instrument of Catholic evangelization, through the medium of television, in support of the overall mission of the Diocese of Baton Rouge—to proclaim the Good News of God’s love made manifest in Jesus Christ.”

The Television Apostolate “will carry out its evangelization ministry by giving voice and image to the vision embodied in the Diocesan Strategic Plan for Evangelization, namely: extending an invitation to all to respond to the Good News within the fullness of the Catholic faith; offering resources for renewal within the Catholic community; sharing the Church’s desire to achieve reconciliation with those Catholics who are alienated from the community; and promoting Gospel values to assist in the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God.”

Scheduling an evening or afternoon of instructive viewing is easy enough to do. Nationally recognized options and award-winning diocesan programs are available to stream, 24-hours a day. Join the many thousands who are better informed, and whose spiritual lives have been enhanced through the ministry. Visit www.catholiclifetv.org

THE STEWARD'S BOOKSHELF

Recommended Resources
for Reflection and Study

A Minute of Margin: Restoring Balance to Busy Lives - 180 Daily Reflections (Pilgrimage Growth Guide) by [M.D., Richard A. Swenson,]

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

St. Vincent de Paul

StVicent

As is true every year, The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Baton Rouge recently served holiday meals and provided a Christmas blessing to many who might otherwise celebrate very little—also meeting the basic needs of clothing and shelter for thousands of our community’s most disadvantaged individuals. “Home may be a trailer, a friend’s guest room, or a damaged residence still unfinished,” but for many, the Society’s Bishop Ott Shelters provide almost every essential, including a home. Even though many in our area contribute faithfully to ensure a more meaningful Christmas for them, needs are ongoing, and fewer people think of January as an ideal month for charitable giving.

To begin the new year, and to assist in ministering to our neighbors throughout these often-challenging months of winter, please consider addressing those special needs. Support St. Vincent de Paul financially, or visit one of their centers and volunteer your time. Visit the website and discover the many ways you might take part. Please visit www.svdpbr.org

STEWARDSHIP IN SCRIPTURE

“The Lord said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

(2 Corinthians 12: 9-10; New American Bible, Revised Edition)

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Fear and the Light

From the Stewardship Today Archives, January 2005

A child’s world changes when the light switch is turned off. The same is true for our elderly family members. Fear and light are inversely proportional. The lights dim, and the measuring bar on the fear meter heads the other direction. Night lights help a bit. Motion detectors and security lights make a difference....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

Is Giving One of Your Resolutions This Year?

Here Are 5 Guidelines to Help You Reach Your Goals

The start of a new year often brings with it a list of goals people would like to accomplish in the coming twelve months. Such a list can include a desire to be more charitable, to volunteer more, or even to learn a new skill.

If you have resolved to be more generous this year, here are five guidelines to help you reach your goals.

January 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

And the Word Became Flesh

Pattern recognition is a function of learning and memory, and it’s at least somewhat predictable. When you look into a forested area, you expect to see trees, bushes and overgrowth, but you overlook the animal whose coat or skin camouflages its appearance and our ability to see it. Our ability to recognize patterns and catalog them, however—over and over again—actually fortifies our struggle to recognize anything that falls outside the norm. Anything that defies expectations. Like the sudden appearance of a man who is divine.. . .read more

The Latest Update ... read more

The Stewardship of Ministry

Because It Is Fitting

“Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him” (Matthew 3:13). Why’d he do that? The answer is in the passage: “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v.15). Okay, so there’s our reason. But, what does it mean? We ask why; we want to understand why. John the Baptist expected Christ’s arrival. He was the devoted forerunner, the one called to prepare the way. He expected a Savior but believed he would come as a victorious Messiah. So, is that how Jesus appeared, robed in purple, regal, ready to take over, to set a new standard, to proclaim the coming of the kingdom? Large, and in charge? Hardly. And John didn’t like it.. . .read more

I Know Who You Are, and Saw What You Did ... read more

The Stewardship of Finance

Immediately They Left

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical 8-hour workday on the job isn’t really so typical, it often extends beyond a standard eight-hour workday, and it includes work completed at home. In the most recent survey data available, “Full-time employed persons averaged 8.5 hours of work time on weekdays worked, and 24 percent did some or all of their work at home.” In fact, “42 percent of those with an advanced degree performed some work at home.” That includes basic tasks, scheduled and impromptu meetings, continuing education and training, and the acquisition of tools and supplies as well as their upkeep. And updating a computer app is as fundamental as sharpening a saw. . . .read more

Such Good Advice ... read more

“In the Scriptures, our people are shown to be made one; so that just as many grains collected into one and ground and mingled together make one loaf, so in Christ, who is the heavenly Bread, we know there is one body, in which our whole company is joined and united.””

St. Hilary of Poitiers

“Heaven is filled with converted sinners of all kinds, and there is room for more.”

St. Joseph Cafas

“What language shall I borrow to thank Thee, dearest Friend? For this, Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever, and should I feinting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee!””

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

“God said, I have placed you in the midst of your fellows so that you may love your neighbor freely without expecting any return from him. And what you do for him I count as done for Me.”

St. Catherine of Siena