In a 1992 pastoral letter on stewardship, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) defined a steward as: “One who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible and accountable manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord.”
The last phrase hits deep.
Return the gifts I have received - with increase - to the Lord.
Almost four years ago, God called me home to serve in the Diocese of Cleveland. This call came with many gifts, namely the opportunity to work alongside Catholic leaders and educators and help to steward the resources and efforts of our diocesan operated Catholic high schools.
Far from maintaining the status quo in areas such as faith, academics, finances, construction, enrollment, and support services, we have collaborated to enhance all aspects of the Bishop’s Catholic high schools.
While it might feel as though we’ve swung hard and fast from local-level autonomy to central office controls, our efforts have focused on “returning our schools with increase to the Lord.” As such we have anchored in and advanced the mission and unique charisms of our schools; used data transparently and meaningfully to inspire growth; clarified and created processes for hiring, performance monitoring, and temporal goods (among others); engaged boards and community members in strategic planning; used best-in-class tactics for philanthropy and advancement; and leveraged the collective power of the DOHS as a network of professional Catholic leaders and educators.
In the words of Bishop Ken Untener, “It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.” This perspective provides a view that can acknowledge areas in which we have improved and those in which we still have room to grow.
In this way, we might be able to point toward increases in enrollment or college acceptances or faith formation opportunities as the return on the Lord’s investment in us and our five schools. We can look at beautiful capital improvements or new curricular offerings or more sophisticated advancement techniques as the interest Jesus has earned through our efforts.
For sure, all of this deserves celebration and recognition. Success breeds success.
But, the “long view” can also allow us to admit that in Catholic education we play an infinite game. There is always work we can and need to accomplish. Our school community changes every year, if not more often. No matter how much we excel in any area, we can always get better and the best is always yet to come.
This long view also allows us to see that "(w)e are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs" (Untener, 1979). The vineyard belongs to the Lord. We are his stewards.
May we continue to receive God’s gifts gratefully, cherish and tend them in responsible and accountable manners, share them in justice and love with others, and return them - always and in all ways - with increase to the Lord.
