Category Archives: Msgr. Thomas McGread

The beginning of the year is a popular time for personal reassessment.  The earth has finished one more revolution around the sun, and swings low over the cold January horizon, just like last year.  The days are shorter, and an evening of introspection seems more inviting.  Somehow, when we take down the old calendar and tack up the new, we sense an opportunity to make a fresh start.

To make the best of this opportunity (which, truthfully, exists in June just as it does in January), it’s useful to make firm commitments.  It’s even more useful to write them down.  These resolutions — kept in a desk drawer or on the refrigerator door — are a “hard copy” of our best intentions for self-improvement.  They’re signposts that redirect our lives towards good, towards God.

Often New Year’s resolutions are about personal health, such as losing weight, relaxing more, or smoking less.  And it is important, of course, to take good care of our bodies.  But Christianity offers us a fuller concept of self-improvement.  St. Paul reminds us that both the body and the soul need an exercise program.  In fact, every aspect of our persons — physical, mental, spiritual, emotional — can benefit from an annual self-audit. (more…)

When I served as pastor of St. Francis here in Wichita, fall was always the time for renewal, and I am sure it is for many of you, as well. So, I wanted to take a moment to encourage you in your efforts.

I always thoroughly enjoyed this time of year as a pastor. Sure, it was a very busy time for us as a parish, but I found it to be spiritually refreshing, both for me and for my parishioners, as we reflected on all that God has given us, and re-committed ourselves to a life of discipleship through stewardship. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the multitude of tasks involved in the renewal and, in turn, to forget what it’s all about. But, I assure you, if you keep your focus on what it is all about – committing to be followers of Jesus Christ in your every day life – you will emerge as you should from the Renewal – renewed! (more…)

How do you effectively preach about money? Tithing is an essential component of true stewardship, and it is necessary to help your parishioners understand that.

I realize this is a touchy subject. Believe me, I know firsthand that when you ask parishioners to open their wallets, many people turn a deaf ear. Yet, as stewards, we are called to give of ourselves entirely – our time, our talents, AND our treasure. So, we don’t want to shy away from talking about it. Rather, we want to talk about it in such a way that will touch the hearts of our parishioners, hopefully evoking a desire in them to give of themselves to the Lord. (more…)

Contrary to popular belief, stewardship is not about raising money. It’s not even about building up our parish ministries and increasing participation. Stewardship is all about Christ. That is the most important thing to remember.

Sure, as we implement stewardship as a way of life in our parishes, we may see our offertories rise and our parish ministries may increase their numbers, but that should not be our focus. In fact, I dare say if that is your focus – as a pastor or a lay parish leader – you most likely will not see a change. That’s because stewardship begins with a conversion of heart. The true steward makes a commitment to the Lord – not merely to the parish. He gives His life to God because He wants to follow Him, and everything else – his time, his talent, and his treasure – follows suit. (more…)

The parable of the talents in Matthew’s Gospel is familiar to most of us. In fact, many of us have probably been told of its stewardship message time and again. But in my blog post today, I want to hit on a portion of that Gospel’s message that I believe is particularly important and pertinent as we all strive to live stewardship today.

In this parable, Jesus tells of a man who goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with his money while he’s gone.

“The one who received five talents came forward bringing the additional five … Then, the one who had received two talents also came forward and sad, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See I have made two more” (Mt. 25: 20, 22).

To both of these servants, the Master replies: “Well done my good and faithful servant… come, share your master’s joy… For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich.”

What does this mean for us as stewards of God’s gifts today? He expects us to cultivate and develop the gifts He has given us and return them with increase. And for what? It is definitely not for His sake, but for ours. He knows that in doing so we will become better people and grow deeper in our faith.

To illustrate that reality, I would like to tell a story. (more…)

I like to call the Bible the “Textbook of Stewardship” because the scriptures are where we truly learn about stewardship. It is there that we learn how the Lord is calling us to live.

As Christian disciples, we must saturate ourselves with the scriptures. We must read and reflect on them regularly, and then go and live them out.

It is in this spirit that I invite you to reflect on the words of 1 Peter 4:10: “As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as stewards of God’s varied grace.”

God has given each one of us a multitude of gifts. All of them are different and individual, as we all are. Some of us are great singers. Some of us are great homilists. Some of us are great listeners, which enables us to be there for others in a particular way. Sure, there are many people who have the gift of a beautiful voice or the skill to craft and deliver an insightful and moving homily, yet, each of our gifts are particular to ourselves. For example, while Fr. John and Fr. Sam both may be wonderful homilists, there is no doubt their personal style and how they preach will be different. They are individuals, and the gifts God has given them are specific to each one. (more…)

As Christian stewards, it is of utmost importance that we see God as the great gift-giver and thank Him for all He has given us. In fact, that is where our lives as Christian stewards ought to begin, because without Him, we would have nothing. We couldn’t live, much less choose to follow Him if He did not give us life.

I am reminded of a story that the late Archbishop Thomas Murphy told of a time in his life when he was headed into the hospital for some serious surgery. It was something he never thought he would be confronted with. Life-threatening problems always happen to others, after all. Suddenly, though, that’s exactly what he was dealing with, and the seriousness of the situation prompted him to look at his life through a different lens. (more…)

Stewardship begins with a conversion of heart, a decision to give one’s life to the Lord and follow Him as His disciple. Yet, it doesn’t stop there. The decision to follow Jesus is not a one-time deal. It involves a daily commitment, a constant choice to choose Christ, to put Him first in our lives, to give Him the first fruits of our many gifts.

Living stewardship is not an easy task, especially in this day and age when the things of this world demand our attention on an almost hourly basis, and look so appealing. But we were not made for the things of this world. Our lives’ purposes reaches far beyond what we can see today, and, recognizing that, we must constantly focus our minds and our hearts on the Lord. Give Him ourselves – our time, our talents, and our treasure – and we will be amazed at the wonderful works He accomplishes through us.

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We’ve all heard the question, “Have you been saved?” Whether it’s been asked of us, or of someone we know, we’re all familiar with that popular Protestant question, and it is usually followed up with another inquiry: “When?” which, in turn, often leads to one of the parties in the conversation recounting the day that He or she found the Lord.

I am going to alter the question just a bit and ask you, “Have you been called?” Think about it honestly. Has the Lord called you to be His disciple? If so, when? Now, I am going to take this question-and-answer session one step further and answer the question for you!

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In their pastoral letter, Stewardship, A Disciple’s Response, the U.S. Bishops clearly state, “Once one chooses to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, stewardship is not an option.” In fact, the bishops found it suitable to place that bold statement on the opening page of the document, emphasizing for us the importance of it.

Wait a minute, you mean if I choose to answer the call to discipleship, the call of every Christian, I can’t choose whether I WANT to “do” stewardship or not? Yes. That’s exactly what their short, but strong, statement means. That’s because stewardship is not something you “do.” It is not a program you adopt within the parish. It is not an activity with a start and a finish. Stewardship is a way of life. It is the Christian disciple’s way of life.  In other words, it is the way we must live once we give our lives to the Lord.

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In my previous blog post, I wrote about how Jesus called the first disciples to service and how He calls us in much the same way today. Here, I would like to examine that a bit further. It is important for us to remember that we profess the same Faith they did so many years ago, faith in Jesus Christ our Lord, that we are disciples of the same Lord, and that, as such, we bear witness to the one and the same Gospel that they did. There is no disconnect. It is one Faith. We are one Church. And if we pay great attention to the examples that the apostles set before us, we will learn a great deal.

If we examine the passage in Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus specifies the 12, it is clear that He called them forth for a specific purpose; He appointed them for a vital role in His salvific mission. They were called to be leaders.

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When Jesus called the first disciples, he called them each by name. Knowing they were fishermen, He summoned them to drop their nets and follow Him.

“I will make you fishers of men,” (Mt. 4:19) He told them. And so they did.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we see Simon and Andrew, two of the first 12 Jesus called, literally drop their fishing supplies and join Jesus in His mission to spread the good news.

In much the same way, Jesus calls each one of us today, and He wants us to respond. That may seem like a bit of a stretch given that Simon and Andrew audibly heard and saw the Lord as He called out to them, and then, when they left their nets behind, they walked side by side with Jesus in the flesh. Our call cannot be just like their, can it?

Indeed it can, and, in fact, it is.

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It was years ago, back when I was a young priest, that the Lord showed me the wonders and the joys of living discipleship through stewardship. I was the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish in Wichita, Kan., at the time, and, after reading through the manuscript of a book entitled Tithing, I realized that people were looking for standards in life – not just a standard for their financial giving, but for the giving of themselves.

And then it hit me. Well, really the Holy Spirit moved me, and I realized that through stewardship I could effectively call my parishioners, my fellow Christians, to live as God intended, and to give themselves to Him.

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