Deacon John’s Stewardship Blog

This Sunday we hear about how the Spirit drove Jesus into the desert and remained with him for forty days while he was faced with many temptations. There are temptations that we too face in our daily lives. When we give in to these temptations they can lead us to sin, hurt our relationships with family or friends, and separate us from the love that God has for us. But Jesus’ example in this reading tells us that we are not alone. Just as the angels came to minister to him, we too must listen and follow the spiritual guides in our lives to help us remain firm in our faith.

Lent is the perfect time to reflect on what is pulling us away from God and how we can return to him with all our heart, mind, soul. Our Lenten commitments of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving can also help us in this effort. Prayer can help us to see our need for God’s forgiveness and receive his love and mercy. When we acknowledge his unconditional love, we become more dependent on God, and allow our faith to grow. Fasting from the things that give us pleasure can help us to better understand “sacrifice.” We fast to focus on Christ and allow him to have more room in our lives and a greater presence in our hearts. We practice almsgiving to focus on the needs of the less fortunate so that we can learn to grow in compassion and serving others in their suffering. These practices can help us in our daily battle against temptation and be better stewards of all God’s gifts.

To help us follow these practices, Kathy Lucci has placed a weekly plan on our parish website www.stpatshub.org home page called “Daily Pray-Fast-Give Opportunities at Hubbard St. Patrick Church.” May the Lord lead us and guide us as we enter these forty days of Lent.

Love,

Karen Bartos, C.R.E.

God of mercy,

          You have given us this special time to reflect on our belief in the Good News and draw closer to you. May this season of Lent help us to use this “time” to fast and pray, be more generous and witness to others how to live for Christ. Let us  see each day of this season as a new opportunity to renew our lives and gain a  deeper appreciation of our faith.

          Give us the grace to see your face in others,  especially in the poor and those who suffer. Through your Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your love so that we may be better stewards of your redeeming work throughout the world. We ask this in Jesus, your Son.  Amen.

Love, Deacon John

Hello, my name is Isabella Bancroft. I am a senior at Ursuline High School. My family and I have been a part of St. Pat’s parish my entire life. My parents Debbie and Bill Bancroft have always been involved in parish life. I took inspiration from them and wanted to get involved as well. I served as an altar server when I was younger. I feel like this really helped me to see how important serving God is. I believe this was my first true understanding of what stewardship is.

I recently became a Eucharistic Minister as well. I chose to do this because I truly feel that it is being like Jesus to others. When I am doing this at school, I want to be a good example to the underclassman and also be able to serve those of my community. This is another way that I am a steward for the Lord.

In addition to these things, I am also the sacristan for the 2024 Celebrate team. With this position, I lead my team in everything prayer related. I also find this a way of being a leader through stewardship. I enjoy being a steward in my actions because it really makes me feel better. I find joy in helping those around me and doing even small gestures that could mean a lot to someone else. I want to continue to help others in small ways as a steward because I believe it is what God calls me to do.

Thank you,

Isabella Bancroft

“See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God’s children – and so, in fact, we are.”  ~ 1 John 3:1

           Children are a gift, a joy, a blessing, a challenge, and a responsibility all rolled up into one. In a sense, they themselves are a gift of stewardship and we as parents are entrusted to teach them and guide them in the way of our Lord.

Everything belongs to God, our Creator, including our children and our very lives. Therefore, we are to be good stewards of this incredibly good gift God has entrusted to us. How do we go about our daily lives to be good stewards and models of faith for our children?

Today our children are faced with an overload of advertisements that only confuse them about who they are, are they good enough, what you really need to be happy. Each child needs to know that they are a masterpiece – God loves them and accepts them just as they are. We can also help them to understand the difference between needs and wants and help them to concentrate on their blessings. We can be the best examples of virtues such as patience, forgiveness, and gratitude. As parents we can emphasize spiritual direction through daily Scripture, through attending weekly Mass and receiving His Body and Blood in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

But there is MORE! We are so excited to welcome you to THE CATHOLIC PARENT, a video series for Catholic parents created by Catholic parents. See the bulletin on page 5 for access on our parish app called FORMED. You can access it simply by scanning the QR code on your phone too. I think this will be an amazing feature to help all of us embrace our calling to parenthood and stewardship alike.

Blessings to all,
Karen Bartos, C.R.E.