Stewards spend time in prayer

First in a Lenten series on Stewardship -- A Life of Prayer

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Stewardship Stewardship: A Way of Life is the diocesan thrust. It invites Catholics to acknowledge that all of life is a gift of God and to respond through prayer, service and sharing. This series will look at ways to do that.

The cornerstone of any relationship, be it with God, members of our family, or with ourselves, is communication. Listening and responding are the two ingredients in our attempt to share thoughts and feelings and dreams.

Lent
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Prayer is communication; prayer is listening and responding; prayer is fostering our relationship with God.

The disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. We know the Lord's response: the great prayer of the "Our Father." In that prayer we focus on God's name, God's will, and God's kingdom. We also ask for daily bread, forgiveness of sin, and freedom from evil and temptation.

As disciples and stewards we can do no better than joining our risen Lord in offering this prayer. St. Teresa of Avila, a Doctor of the Church, tells us: "I used to try to think of Jesus Christ, our God and our Lord, as present within me, and it was in this way that I prayed."

Stewardship, which is a disciple's response to God's generosity, involves prayer, service and sharing. Here in the Diocese of Green Bay we begin by focusing our life in Christ. It is in prayer that Jesus speaks to our heart and calls us to serve and to share. Stewards exercise responsible care for all their gifts but always in the context of our relationship with God.

Here are three comments about prayer that might deepen our understanding and appreciation of this dimension of stewardship.

1. "Prayer ... is communication, in which God's word has the initiative, and we, at first are simply listeners" (Hans Urs von Balthasar). God always takes the first step in reaching out to us with divine love and mercy. God speaks through the scriptures, through Tradition, through our daily experiences, and in the movements of our hearts. Our task is to be open and receptive and then to respond in an appropriate way, be it thanksgiving or sorrow, praise or petition. Stewards know that everything is gift and they respond with deep gratitude.

2. "She [St. Therese] understood prayer as essentially a matter of paying loving attention to the smallest detail" (Belden Lane). St. John of the Cross describes contemplation, one of the highest forms of prayer, as "loving attention." If we are truly aware of creation and have love in our hearts, we are going to encounter the living and true God. Stewards pay attention; stewards are people who love.

3. "... a very simple method of prayer ... 'It consists' says M. Olier, 'in having our Savior before our eyes, in our heart, and in our hands.' Thus we look at Jesus, unite ourselves with him, and work in him. It is adoration, communion, and cooperation" (Aerled Squire). Stewards recognize God as the origin of life and the giver of all that they have and are. More, stewards ground their lives in adoration, communion, and cooperation with the Lord. This is a life of prayer; it is a whole way of life.

On the wall in the second grade class hung a sign listing the four types of prayer: "Thanks! Help! Wow! Oops!" Like stewards in the making. Pray those prayers and our discipleship is well grounded.

(Besides serving as auxiliary bishop of Green Bay, Bp. Morneau is a nationally-recognized expert in stewardship, and served on the national committee that wrote the U.S. bishops' letter on stewardship.)