STEWARDSHIP—LIVING CHRISTIANITY [ RADICALLY]

New World Articles

Burning Bushes
By Rich Goode

The first principle of stewardship is the joyous and undeniable fact that grace is all around us. Every breath is a precious gift from God. Every moment is suffused in His love. Moses was simply seeing what we too often miss when he encountered that burning bush. Every bush, every living thing is burning proof of the presence of God.

Quiet miracles happen every day in our parishes but are rarely reported. For instance, Incarnation Parish in Palos Heights recently received a beautiful bequest from a devoted parishioner. The parishioner, may she rest in peace, probably had no idea of all the good that would sprout from her generosity. Fr. Ron Mass and the finance committee discussed how to use this bequest. In Fr. Ron’s words, “We felt we could not receive this blessing without sharing it outside the parish boundaries.”

Fr. Ron told the finance committee about Fr. Kevin Hays, a Chicago priest serving the poor in an earthquake-stricken region of Peru. The committee proposed that some of the bequest go to rebuild the church in San Francisco Parish in Moquegua, Peru where Fr. Hays serves. When Fr. Ron suggested it at Sunday mass, the congregation burst into applause.

Grace seems to spread like fire through a burning bush. Since then a second parishioner left $75,000 to Incarnation, part of which built a playground in a day care center in Kenya. Soon after that San Francisco Parish in Peru received over $200,000 from the estate of an Incarnation parishioner. Those funds are helping to build “Comodores Populares” or “People’s Dining Rooms” where hungry people find food, fellowship and quiet, abounding grace.

Lastly, Incarnation remembers her brothers and sisters here in Chicago. The parish focused its Millennium Campaign on sharing outside the parish boundaries. They participate in the parish sharing program where parishioners are encouraged to give extra each month for a parish in a less affluent area of the Archdiocese. Their parish sharing collection went from about $10,000 to over $25,000 a year.

Grace flourishes at Incarnation Parish and so many others around the Archdiocese. One act of kindness inspires many others. It may not make the nightly news but, through His Church and its quiet acts of generosity, Jesus touches countless lives every day.

Be mindful of the shrubbery on your way out today because, like all creation, it is on fire with the grace of God.