As part of our Financial Stewardship Focus we ask the members of the parish to discern how much they will contribute to the mission and ministry of the parish over the next year. While we often think of money as a ‘secular’ issue, how we use our time, money and resources is a deeply spiritual issue. So I invite you to use a prayerful discernment process when you are contemplating your financial giving. The following are some guidelines that I hope you might find helpful in this process. Faithful choices are made from a place of deep gratitude and the desire to be faithful to God.
Steep your whole process in prayer.
You may not be used to doing this, but pray for guidance when you are contemplating your pledge. Take pauses as you seek to listen, and pay attention to, the Spirit’s movement in your heart. At each point in your discernment, stop and ask yourself “What does God desire of me, and for me, (or this family) right now?”
Consider all the facts and practical issues.
This is critical, especially when thinking about stewardship of resources. Keep in mind the abundance as well as the limitations you have—and pray for guidance on how your abundance should be allocated.
Be open to where God leads in your discernment.
This is the hardest principle to put into practice, but crucial to good discernment. As you discern, ask yourself if you can be at peace with the outcome from this time of sifting, sorting, praying and choosing. Opening ourselves to new possibilities or to ones we previously found disagreeable or scary is spiritually freeing. If you feel ‘stuck’, pray for the grace to practice openness.
Finally, make a choice and act on it.
Although good discernment takes time, it’s not an excuse to procrastinate! If you are waiting for certainty, forget it. Seek clarity instead. And just because we discern well doesn’t mean we never make mistakes or that things don’t change. But having prayed and sifted and sorted as best we can, we need to take the leap of faith and act. If things in your life change then you can discern again what God is asking you to do in the face of revised options.
- - Roberta