My Lay Witness Talk (last Sunday at Mass)

Good morning, my name is Jesse... I've been a member of St. Mary parish now for a couple years, and serve as a Eucharistic Minister to the Homebound. The Parish Committee, along with Father..., has asked me to speak a little about my own conversion to a "Stewardship Way of Life," a way of life in which one tries more and more to give of one's "time, talent and treasure" in the service of God and neighbor.

I’d like to begin with some background. I began to follow Christ at an early age in the Protestant, Evangelical tradition; a tradition in which I was baptized and to which I'm greatly indebted for helping nurture my relationship with Christ. Years later, I became attracted to the Quaker understanding of God's relationship with man. However, as a devoted student of authors like C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton, it was only a matter of time before the sacredness of matter, and it's importance in theology and ethics, became an additional truth which I had to accept; thus I joined the more sacramental Episcopal Church. Finally, for a multitude of converging reasons, I was confirmed Catholic on April 10th 2004 (Easter Vigil), at Saint Helens in...

I'd like to generally summarize the many reasons for my confirmation in the Catholic Church with three related phrases, and note how they tie in with Stewardship.

The first phrase is unitive purpose. I found that every doctrine of theology, expression of worship, and moral teaching - as difficult as some are - as well as the ecclesial nature of the Church, is woven together with an internal aim and consistency, which bears all the marks of Divine Intent.

The second phrase is "fullness of faith." Throughout my Christian walk, my relationship with God through Jesus was able progressively to take on a fuller dimension, and to culminate in the fullness, which Catholicism offers.

Now, before I go on, I do not want to give the impression that my Christian walk was a steady, continuous path; to stay true to reality, the path should be dotted here and there at places where I've strayed, and failed to be a committed Christian. Therefore, I speak from experience when I say the support the Catholic Church gives through the Sacraments (especially Reconciliation and Eucharist), through Her teaching of the Cardinal Virtues and the distinction between mortal and venial sins, through recourse to the Communion of Saints, and strengthening devotions like Eucharistic Adoration, Divine Mercy, and the Rosary; all these supports, and many more, have become indispensable to me for living, to the degree to which I do, a committed Christian life. Moreover, and to the point, these "supports" are exactly what I mean when I talk about fullness, for they involve our personal, social and moral dimensions, the use of our senses and imagination, the proper use of our intellect and will; in short, they involve our whole being in our contact with God, and make us aware of the full range of our being with which we can seek the peace of God.

And that brings me to the third and final phrase, which is ongoing conversion, or deeper conversion. To my delight, I discovered that finding the "fullness of faith" is only the beginning, for Catholic spiritual teaching conceives stages of relationship through which we progress in order to ascend to the ultimate heights of union with God. Catholic spirituality, which is drawn largely from the experience of the Saints, tells us that by faithfully using the means of God's grace, and in loving God and our neighbor, we will pass through increasingly fulfilling stages traditionally called the Purgative, Illuminative and Unitive Ways - so we're to be always moving forward.

Stewardship, here at St. Mary's, offers unique, enriching, concrete opportunities to keep us moving forward: from being a Eucharistic minister, usher, member of the choir -- to helping with devotions, teaching opportunities, volunteer work for those in need; there are many such opportunities suited to each of our own unique talents and gifts. I can certainly say that being a Eucharistic Minister to the Homebound is an incredible privilege, and has helped me, in relation to God and neighbor, to grow -- at least somewhat -- in the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. (By the way, my daughter Abby helps me every week by doing the Scripture readings, and it means a lot to me just to have her with me, so I'd like to take this opportunity to thank her)

In closing, I'd like to thank Father... and the Parish Committee for their work in organizing the Stewardship drive, and to extend my thanks to those of you who are in any way involved with Stewardship. I'd also encourage anyone interested to get a copy of the Ministry Catalog, it's an excellent resource for matching up talents to opportunities, and for beginning, or enhancing, your own "Stewardship Way of Life".

Thank you