Council of Catholic Women - being good stewards of God’s gifts

by Joanne Pohland

Stewardship is a way of life. It is the way Christians live out their call to be followers of Jesus. Stewardship is the expression of discipleship that recognizes God as the source of all gifts. Jesus is our role-model. He truly models self-giving and loving service.

Our mission, then, as Council of Catholic Women, is to determine how it is we can be good Catholic stewards. According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops document An Invitation to Help Change the World, Catholic stewards:

† work as partners with God in the redemption of the world;

† respect human life and dignity;

† protect the natural environment;

† share our gifts (time, talents, and treasures) with others; and

† communicate our enthusiasm.

From my vantage point, I see the Council of Catholic Women as a means to help us fulfill our calling to live out that expression of discipleship we call stewardship.

Through our six commissions and two committees, in which our many projects, events, and activities take place, we work to achieve these lofty goals. And by working through Council of Catholic Women, we can not only communicate our enthusiasm to others, be we can also spread it to others.

Many times I hear that women do not wish to be a part of CCW for various reasons. I would like to raise the question: “Are we Catholics of convenience or Catholics of conviction?” A Catholic of convenience is one who wants God’s Kingdom without any cost. Catholics of conviction follow Christ and His call to be good stewards of all the gifts that they have been given. Catholics of conviction are those who are willing to place their lives in the hand of God. They do not make excuses to get away from doing the will of God; they look for opportunities to please him.

Is now the time to reexamine our involvement in our parish CCW? Is now the time to work to revitalize that group of women so that we too can be called Catholics of conviction who aspire to the call to be good stewards of God’s gifts? I pray that it is!

Joanne Pohland is from Glencoe, MN, and is the DCCW President.