This past week I spent time with my family in Yellowstone National Park as we celebrated one of my younger sisters’ 50th birthday. Happy Birthday Melissa (in November) It was a wonderful time and being able to experience the grandeur of God’s creation in such a beautiful place is truly a awe-inspiring and faith filled moment.
Each year in our Catholic tradition September 1st is designated as a day of pray for the Care of Creation. In Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Si (On Care for Our Common Home) he teaches, “Whether you are a person of faith or not, we all agree today the earth is a shared inheritance, meant for the benefit of everyone. This is especially true, however, for people of faith. We defend the right to private property but also teach that all such property has a social dimension to it.” (#93)
Being stewards of God’s gift of creation, and all of God’s gifts beginning with life, are at the center of the Gospel message and the invitation to follow Jesus.
During my vacation in Yellowstone we listened and saw how the stewardship and the care for this small part of God’s creation has been transformed over the years. A good example is the place of wolves, bears and coyotes in the overall ecosystem of the park and world, the understanding of how forest fires are part of the necessary life cycle of the park and ultimately how we as visitors to the park can effect and change the natural cycles and what we can do to minimize our impact. It is the stewardship of the treasure through our time and talent, appreciating the gifts given and seeking to share the wonder of creation with all people especially those who will be born in future years.
In the same way our spiritual stewardship and the care for our soul and those around us is transformed and made new over and over again as we grow in the love and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gift of our time, talent and treasure is seen new when we begin to understand how each gift is not independent of the other but how my gift weaves into the gifts of others to form, as St. Paul says “so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.“ (Rm 12:5) This is the true gift of stewardship; the recognition that shared gifts brings greater abundance and peace to our lives and the life of the world. The stewardship of our relation with God through the Church, through family and through the creation that surrounds us is the continual growth in offering our life through prayer and presence to one another.
“The world around us is filled with wonder and mystery. Every leaf, raindrop, or mountain trail holds within it the meaning we seek (#233) We do not separate beauty, awe and wonder from God. God is present in all things noble and beautiful. This is all part of the encounter with God. (#234) Such encounters with God do not require that we abandon the world but rather that we embrace it. The sacraments are filled with similar signs that move our hearts toward God.” (#235)
We discover our blessedness within God’s great plan when we seek the blessedness of others through the shared gifts God extends to us. The Eucharist we celebrate, especially on Sundays, is the embracing of the world through the recognition of God’s presence in our brothers and sisters through the sharing of life we live daily in the joys and sorrows we experience.
The invitation in stewarding God’s gifts is to share them through prayer and sacrificial offerings of love. Our call to be good stewards is participating in the invitation of all to come with us to the table of blessing where true life is found in the shared caring of life.
God Bless
Fr. Mark