Everything Is Entrusted to Us

October begins our Stewardship Month, a time to rediscover a simple but life-changing truth of our faith:

Everything is a gift. Everything is entrusted to us. And someday, we must give an account of what we have done with God’s gifts.

Our life is a gift. Our health is a gift. Our families, abilities, education, work, possessions, parish community, and opportunities are gifts. Even the earth beneath our feet—the air we breathe, the water we drink, the trees, animals, oceans, mountains, and all creation—has been entrusted to our care.

Stewardship, therefore, is much bigger than money. It is a way of looking at life.

A steward does not ask only, “What belongs to me?” A Christian steward asks, “Lord, what have you entrusted to me, and what do you want me to do with it?”

This is beautifully reflected in this Sunday’s Gospel, the Parable of the Tenants. A landowner plants a vineyard, prepares it carefully, entrusts it to tenants, and expects fruit from it.

The vineyard belongs to the owner, but it is placed temporarily into the hands of the tenants.

Isn’t that also the story of our lives?

God has entrusted each of us with a vineyard. Your life is your vineyard. Your family is part of that vineyard. Your vocation, health, talents, possessions, faith, relationships, opportunities, and years on this earth are all part of it.

The question is not simply, “What have I received?”

The deeper question is: “What fruit am I producing with what God has given me?”

Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si’ that the earth is our common home. We are not absolute owners of creation but caretakers of something received from God. Caring for the environment, using resources responsibly, avoiding waste, and remembering the needs of future generations are therefore not merely social concerns; they belong to our Christian responsibility.

But stewardship also includes the human vineyard.

In Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV reminds us that every generation inherits the responsibility of shaping the world so that human dignity is protected, justice is promoted, fraternity grows, and people are able to flourish.

What a beautiful way to understand stewardship: we have been entrusted not only with things, but with one another.

We are stewards of our children and their future. We are stewards of the poor and vulnerable among us. We are stewards of our parish community. We are stewards of the faith handed down to us by generations before us. And we are stewards of the world that we will someday hand on to generations after us.

Even our parish is a vineyard entrusted to us.

The church where we worship, the ministries that serve our people, the formation of our children and young people, the care of our buildings, our outreach to those in need, and the daily work of proclaiming the Gospel all depend upon parishioners who recognize: This is our spiritual home, and its mission has been entrusted to us.

That is why our stewardship of time, talent, and treasure matters. Our Sunday offering is not simply paying a bill or making a donation. It is an act of thanksgiving. It is our way of saying:

“Lord, everything I have comes from you. I return a portion of your blessings so that your work may continue.”

St. Paul gives us another beautiful picture of a fruitful life in this Sunday’s Second Reading: whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise—think about these things and put them into practice.

That is what a flourishing vineyard looks like.

As we begin Stewardship Month, therefore, let us look at the vineyard God has entrusted to each of us.

What am I doing with my life?
What am I doing with my gifts?
What am I doing for my parish?
What am I doing for people who have less than I do?
What kind of world am I helping to leave to the next generation?

Someday we will return the vineyard to its Owner.

May we be able to stand before the Lord with gratitude and say:

“Lord, you entrusted these gifts to me. I tried to care for them. I tried to share them. I tried to make them fruitful. And I tried to leave your vineyard better than I found it.”

May that be the spirit of our Stewardship Month: grateful for everything, possessive of nothing, responsible for much, and generous with all that God has entrusted to us.

Much love,