Volume 20. No. 8

April 2003

STEWARDSHIP

Parents as the First Educators of Their Children

Parents want their children to understand the Catholic faith. Part of this is achieved in the context of the classroom. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church acknowledges:

"As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental. As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators (2229)."

The more important locus of the evangelization of children, however, is the home.

"Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom (2223)."

Stewardship

Each time parents and their children gather to celebrate liturgy they hear the Word of God proclaimed. At the end of the service, the congregants are asked to: "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." Serving God in others is fundamental to a true observance of the Catholic faith.

What is involved in this call to love and serve the Lord? It is that of stewardship, a notion expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament (e.g., Mt. 25.14-30). Stewardship is the use of God-given talents and gifts in service to other people and, indeed, the whole creation. It is the building of the Kingdom of God here on earth.

Embracing Stewardship

Stewardship goes beyond tithing one’s time, talent, and treasure for the Church. Stewardship is a way of life in which every aspect of one’s life is employed according to the divine plan and returned to God. Embracing stewardship involves true conversion, a fundamental reorientation of one’s life, whether individually or in the context of the family.

Teaching Children to be Good Stewards

Parents are the child’s primary teachers. They teach both by what they say and what they do. Here are some recommendations for modelling stewardship in daily life.

Acknowledge God’s gifts to the family and be grateful for them.

  1. During night prayers with a child, or in the car, teach the child to be thankful for specific gifts from God.
  2. Guide the child to be grateful for existence and the vocation to be a child of God. Also express appreciation for the child’s contributions to the family, and skills as a friend.

Care for the gift of humanity and the gift of the earth in a responsible manner.

  1. Celebrate Earth Day all year long with recycling and clean-up activities. Be respectful of animals and nature.
  2. Eat healthy meals and snacks as a way of taking care of one of God’s best resources.

Share gifts and talents in justice and love.

  1. Show the child how to tithe allowance, gifts, and time. Talk to the child about where to send donations for the needy
  2. Take the child to a soup kitchen where members of a family volunteer.
  3. Plan how to spend time with relatives or neighbors who are ill or lonely.

Return gifts and talents with increase to God.

  1. Pray for guidance and wisdom. This will be the work of a lifetime.
  2. Plant the seeds of lifelong stewardship in the child.

References:

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Doubleday, 1995).
Publications of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: http://www.usccb.org/publishing/stewardship.htm.
Catholic Relief Services (http://www.catholicrelief.org/.
The Prophetic Spirit of Catechesis: How We Share the Fire in Our Hearts, Anne Marie Mongovern, O.P. (Paulist Press, 2000).
"Who Is a Christian Steward?" The Faith Connection, RCL Enterprises.

Parents also teach ideas and concepts to their children. They may want to read the following passages from scripture, which illustrate the idea of stewardship, together with their children. Interestingly, in the era of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament, people offered the firstfruits of their labors to God and then to the community. These are often referred to as offerings of firstfruits. The idea is similar to that connoted by the term stewardship today.

Biblical Passages Concerning Stewardship

Gen.14.28-20; Gen. 28.22

Lk. 12.16-21

Mt. 13.44

Lk. 13.6-9

Mt. 20.1-6

Lk. 15.8-10

Mt. 21.33-46

Lk. 15.11-32

Mt. 23.23

Lk. 18.9-14

Mt. 25.14-30; Mt. 25.31-46

Acts 2.45

Lk. 7.41-43

1 Cor.16.1-4

Lk. 10.29-37

2 Cor. 8-9

Lk. 11.42

Heb. 7.1-11

TARGET - TAKE CHARGE OF EDUCATION
Target, the corporation that sponsors LINK, publishes a newsletter with helpful tips for parents and educators. Two items from their latest newsletter (November/December 2002) may be of interest. Start Something, the youth program from Target and the Tiger Woods Foundation, encourages children from 8-17 to develop a skill or take on a project that will ultimately benefit others. The website presents success stories as well as information about the program and typical questions (http://startsomething.target.com/info/successStories.asp). The Target newsletter also notes that the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) is making its collections available in a variety of formats (videocassettes, slides, DVD, CD-ROMs). To see a catalogue of available program titles, go to: http://www.nga.gov/education/ep-main.htm

Published by the Department of Elementary Schools, National Catholic Educational Association
Suite 100, 1077 30th St., NW, Washington, DC 20007-3852
Editor: Br. Robert R. Bimonte, FSC; Project Manager: Janice Kraus; Designer: Beatriz H. Ruiz; © 2003, NCEA, Washington, DC.