Discipleship, Stewardship, Evangelization

• There is a “relationship” between Discipleship, Stewardship, and Evangelization.
• There is overlap between these three phases of our Catholic life – they are connected.
• Discipleship is being a follower of Jesus.
• Stewardship is being grateful for all that we have been given by God and generously sharing what we have been given.
• In 1992, the U.S. Catholic Bishops wrote a pastoral letter called Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response.”
• So, Stewardship only makes sense to people if they are true disciples of Jesus.
• If not disciples, Stewardship will look like a recruitment drive to boost Mass attendance or it will look like begging for more parish volunteers or it will look like endless fund-raising requests.
• If there is no relationship with Jesus, there’s no discipleship and no stewardship.
• Fr. Jarrod Lies, a diocesan priest from the Diocese of Wichita, says this about the relationship between Discipleship and Stewardship:
  • “Discipleship precedes stewardship.”
  • “The ‘cost’ is central to the life of the disciple; one must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus.”
  • “The soul of Stewardship is imitating Jesus in his own self-emptying.”
  • “Stewardship and Discipleship are two sides of the same reality but are exercised with two distinct loves.”
  • “Discipleship determines one’s identity in Christ while Stewardship describes one’s mission to fellow disciples.”
• The third phase – Evangelization.
• Evangelization is going out and proclaiming the Good News by our words and actions.
• Here’s how Stewardship and Evangelization are connected.
• When I have encountered Jesus and experiencing ongoing conversion, I am grateful and generous with my gifts.
• My love for the Holy Trinity is something I want to share with others because I want them to have the same Love, Joy, and Peace that I have.
• So, when I am a good steward of my gifts, my life is filled with many opportunities to not only share my faith with others but more importantly, to live my faith on a daily basis.
• Fr. Jarrod says this about the relationship between Stewardship and Evangelization:
  • “The practice of Stewardship inevitably leads to Evangelization.”
  • “Stewardship depends immediately on its fidelity to Discipleship and commitment to Evangelization.”
  • “They are, so to speak, the front and back end of Stewardship.”
  • “Just as a long train can have engines pulling from the front and pushing from the back, so Stewardship will lose momentum if it is not situated between the two engines of Discipleship and Evangelization.”

Summary