ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE
No one knows the original author, but that fact doesn’t negate the truth contained in this simple, oft-quoted little saying: “There is no ‘I’ in teamwork.” As another sage noted, “You can’t whistle a symphony; it takes an orchestra to play it.” A single individual can handle plenty of tasks—… Read Complete Article »


The Wonders of God
Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, the great Hebrew patriarch, details the typical adult lifespan. “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong.” Other passages use the familiar biblical language, “three score and ten years.” … Read Complete Article »


Go, but Go with Grace
Because we pair them so often, it is difficult to think of certain words without thinking of others. Consider the pace of life, and the word frenetic may come to mind. What does that mean? Some might suggest a frenetic pace is simply a fast one. It isn’t. It’s more. … Read Complete Article »


The Small and the Great
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, Lord and Savior. The Scriptures make clear other realities. Perhaps none is more universally acknowledged than this: Jesus was—and endures as—the preeminent Teacher. He embraced the use of stories, word pictures, and parables. … Read Complete Article »

ALL BAPTIZED INTO ONE

No one knows the original author, but that fact doesn’t negate the truth contained in this simple, oft-quoted little saying: “There is no ‘I’ in teamwork.” As another sage noted, “You can’t whistle a symphony; it takes an orchestra to play it.” A single individual can handle plenty of tasks—cutting the grass, answering the phone, filing papers, entering information in a computer, picking the kids up from school, the list is endless. But, stretch the level of responsibility—multiple yards, a phone bank, rooms full of paperwork, a variety of computers and multiple databases, a school full of youngsters, and the ability of one person to manage them all is asking too much. No one would even attempt it. And, no one should think the God of all things—including order and reason—would ask any of us to take on more responsibility in the Church than is possible for one to actually address. He wouldn’t, and he didn’t. For the work of the kingdom, he has called and equipped a host of clergy, religious, other professionals, lay staff and millions of faithful volunteers. Within the Church, everyone has a role, and all roles are vital.

In the twelfth chapters of both St. Paul’s letter to Christians at Rome and in his first published letter to those at Corinth, the Apostle discusses the essential relationship between the parts and the whole, individual followers of Christ and the Church universal. “As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.” Every individual parishioner contributes meaningfully to the call Christ has placed on all of us, but there is no ‘I’ in “one Body,” nor (at least in English) is there an ‘I’ in Church. To the glory of God, every person is spiritually gifted, capable of fruitful ministry and service, and able to honor God with a life centered in Jesus and his call to build the kingdom. How do we know that? Because “we were all baptized into one body.” One. Just one. And it is his—God’s Church, his Spirit, his purposes and his work.


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THE WONDERS OF GOD

Psalm 90, a psalm of Moses, the great Hebrew patriarch, details the typical adult lifespan. “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are strong.” Other passages use the familiar biblical language, “three score and ten years.” At other times (and in a variety of other cultures, of course) the average human lifespan has fallen short of those figures. Still other communities boast numerous citizens whose age exceeds more established norms. But some species, on average, live quite a bit longer. Two sea creatures, in particular, live twice as long, enjoying the longest average life spans of any animals on the planet. Marion’s tortoise—creatures resident in the Indian Ocean’s Seychelles Islands—and the Northern Atlantic quahog clam enjoy lives extending more than a century and a half. One humorist has wryly noted that the quahog clam lives for over a hundred years, only when “it can avoid the dinner table.” One specimen was actually judged to have lived over three hundred years!

The sea is abundantly full of the astonishing and the remarkable—creatures that seem never to sleep, those who migrate hundreds of miles to spawn, and the select species who survive in the depths of the darkest, most forsaken parts of the ocean floor. Insightful marine biologists remind us that vast areas of the planet’s great oceans remain unexplored still. Additional creatures await discovery. And, the sea itself is stunningly magnificent, vast and mysterious.

Those who work and travel on open waters know this well. It has been true for thousands of years. The Old Testament psalmist wrote, “Some went off to sea in ships and plied their trade on the deep waters. They saw the works of the Lord, the wonders of God in the deep.” A student may respect the wonders of the deep, but no one knows the multitude of wonders in the sea better than those who make their living plying its depths. By instructional application, none among us knows more about the Lord than those willing to ply the depths of his world, his work, and his Word. Imagine, with the aid and discretion of his Spirit, choosing to explore them all more fully.


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GO, BUT GO WITH GRACE

Because we pair them so often, it is difficult to think of certain words without thinking of others. Consider the pace of life, and the word frenetic may come to mind. What does that mean? Some might suggest a frenetic pace is simply a fast one. It isn’t. It’s more. In Middle English, the word frenetik actually referred to insanity, and the term phrenitis, from the Greek, refers to inflammation of the brain. A “frenetic pace” is a frenzied one, frantic and hectic, wild, overexcited, and tense. Think of the stock exchange floor during a harried sell-off, or picture a few seconds of fierce action during a tied Stanley Cup final, multiple players slapping and swinging at a loose puck within feet of the goal—like one half of a successful movie franchise, more furious than fast.

For so many parishioners, such a pace is also more the norm than the exception. It’s no wonder, then, that our spiritual directors recommend regular and extended times of quiet reflection, meditation and prayer. We need it—too busy to think, too involved to properly weigh priorities. So, how do we balance the need for meditation and the call to ministry? American author F. Scott Fitzgerald famously wrote, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” Maybe it’s an adequate test to measure first-rate spiritual health too. In the Lord’s farewell charge to the apostles, as St. Matthew noted in his gospel account, Jesus provided insight into such a balance.

“Go and make disciples of all nations,” Jesus said, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always.” Go. That’s a word inferring action. As does the word make. So does baptize. And teach. Go, go, go. Get busy. Minister and serve. Tired? In need of a break? A time of quiet reflection and meditation? Well, understand that the Lord understands. “I am with you always,” he said. We can embrace the difficulty of a hurried and harried pace of life because we know that God is with us. Jesus is with us always. In the pause. And in the pace.


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THE SMALL AND THE GREAT

Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, Lord and Savior. The Scriptures make clear other realities. Perhaps none is more universally acknowledged than this: Jesus was–and endures as–the preeminent Teacher. He embraced the use of stories, word pictures, and parables. In chapter four of his gospel, St. Mark recorded a parable of Christ that uses simple agrarian imagery to make a point concerning the almost fathomless character of the kingdom of God. “Jesus said, ‘To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.’ ”

Through St. Peter, the other apostles, St. Paul and thousands of First Century faithful, the Lord established his glorious Church. A small group of devoted followers to begin, they nevertheless formed the foundation of God’s Body and Bride. The parable of the mustard seed is fulfilled in their historic, biblical example, yet the building of the kingdom is a task that continues through those who follow the path of God’s Son today.

The sacrifices of the saints and martyrs—like the devoted service of every selfless believer—are like seeds, planted in the fertile soil of God’s blessing. And, each faithful life gives birth to the fruitful growth of the kingdom of God, nurturing others, providing safety and direction, and offering protection much like the branches of a large tree. The initially modest and seemingly insignificant seed promises to yield ultimate blessing, great fruit that extends its reach to include many others.

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MONTHLY SPOTLIGHT:
THE STEWARDSHIP OFFICE & NEW MINISTRY MATERIALS

Information on Related Work and Ministry in the Baton Rouge Diocese

It is a privilege to be called to serve God and his Church by ministering to others. Those of us blessed to serve in the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge Office of Stewardship have long affirmed that profound truth: We are called to serve. To that end, each devotional and instructional tool we create is designed to encourage and assist local Parish churches—as well as sister churches and fellow Dioceses across the country—as we all seek to honor the Lord through our gifts of time, talent and treasure—blessings and gifts offered by the hand of our loving and gracious God.

We publish this monthly devotional newsletter, design all manner of related materials for parish stewardship programs, and develop the award-winning annual stewardship curriculum entitled Stewardship: A Way of Life, a complete package of materials that includes a seventy-page binder plus support materials like commitment cards and brochures, addressing three critical aspects of wise and meaningful stewardship: Prayer, Ministry and Finance. This year’s curriculum, based on the papal proclamation of The Pauline Year, will feature multiple resources centered in the biblical letters of St. Paul, and will be completed in time for back-to-school Stewardship of Ministry efforts. We pray we have invested the kind of time and energy your own ministry programs deserve.

In addition, later this summer, we will release a completely redesigned monthly newsletter. We are expanding the content of each monthly issue of Stewardship Today so that we might better serve you, our faithful readers. In future issues, you’ll be able to affirm our time-honored commitment to the instructive intersection between the Catholic faith and stewardship, but you’ll also find even more resources for interested Catholic parishioners. Again, we thank you for the opportunity to serve the Lord by serving you.

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