“Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

The above words were indeed a welcome invitation to help change the world. Could Stewardship of the Gospel – our anniversary theme, help in this?

Our parish priest, Fr Gregory Mc Lawrence certainly showed this is possible as he delivered a most dynamic homily. Here he explored the gospel to its fullest. Actually, the gospel of the day certainly lent itself to Stewardship of Time and Talent as it presented the solidarity of Mary and Martha in their hospitality to Jesus.

It showed clearly how Mary was able to prioritise. She was able to put Jesus first. We must therefore listen, we must pray and above all we must spend some time at the feet of Jesus.

Work, we were told, without prayer is penniless and prayer without work is meaningless. Prayer in action then, must always be our goal for the gospel demands action and belief.

The morning progressed beautifully and interestingly enough. Breakfast was served after Holy Mass. This was then followed by a short history of what Stewardship is all about.

One of our main stated objectives was that “parishioners will renew their commitment of Time and Talent”. Another objective was that we would hear the gospel and respond to the call of Stewardship, as well as a call to the renewal of stewardship on the whole.

We owe a great thank you to the chairperson, Jennifer Mahabir whose explanations and delivery were most concise and direct.

Parishioners were later placed in groups and given some thought-provoking questions for discussion, for example, “We seek no rewards for our stewardship, we do it with the joy of serving God. Give examples of ways in which you can be a good steward at home, in the workplace, in church, in the community.”

The feedback from the reports showed without a doubt how our people are thinking. Yes, they certainly receive the gospel, share the gospel and no doubt act on the gospel as Fr Gregory in his final address said. We are called to respond, we are called to listen and we are called to be concerned.

Fr Mc Lawrence reminded the congregation that we have been practising stewardship all the days of our lives. It is certainly not a new concept.

It is rooted in who we are. Jesus himself is our true steward. There is no limit to his blessings or his love for us. One of the most fulfilling things is to use wisely what God has given us. Everything that we have while we are here comes as a gift from God.