Saint Ignatius of Loyola offered us these words of wisdom, which seem particularly relevant as we journey through the season of Lent: “He who goes about to reform the world must begin with himself, or he loses his labor.”
A Christian steward is by nature a reformer. We attempt to live our lives in a way that makes the world a better place. We vote. We contribute to charities that we believe in. We build up our Catholic parishes so that they might shine the light of truth into our weary world. We work to alleviate poverty and injustice. We await the New Jerusalem. Many of us work in schools, parishes, and diocesan offices where we bring a passion for reforming our world. Christian stewards who work in other environments endeavor to bring Christian values into the marketplace.
Lent doesn’t ask us to stop any of these efforts. But, as we hear “the voice of one who cries in the desert” proclaiming the beginning of Lent, we know that the Church in her wisdom has given us a beautiful season to look inward, to seek quiet time in our own desert. Saint Ignatius, Saint John the Baptist, and the season of Lent remind us that trying to change the world will not work if we don’t first of all change ourselves.
Lent points the way to what really matters: Christ. We are asked to experience Him who is the reason for our endeavors, our passion, our work in this world.
Saint John the Baptist provides a challenge: “Anyone who has two tunics must share with the one who has none, and anyone with something to eat must do the same” (Luke 3:11). The Church provides some traditional guidelines: prayer, fasting, almsgiving. How we integrate these three guidelines into Lent’s forty days is a personal decision, but one which should take us on a journey into our own hearts, where we ask ourselves why we labor, what our work and our life really mean, to Whom we and our life’s work really belong.
A STEWARSHIP PRAYER for March
Merciful Lord,
As we journey toward the great paschal feast of Easter, teach us to be good stewards of your mercy and forgiveness,
so that we may extend these gifts to others.
Give us the strength to bear witness to you at all times, even in times of stress and adversity.
And fill our hearts with love that we may be faithful to the Gospel Jesus proclaimed
and ready to celebrate his resurrection.
Grant this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reprinted with permission from the International Catholic Stewardship Council.
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