THE WAY OF ‘STEWARDSHIP’
A group of us have been working on this programme ever since the New Start with Jesus. It has been piloted in a few parishes and, with particular success, in St. Augustine’s, Carlisle, and St. Joseph’s, Preston. The programme aims to get parishioners thinking about their gifts and the part they play in the mission of the parish. It culminates in a ‘commitment weekend’ but aims to put in place a cycle of commitment for the life of the parish.

It is not a ‘miracle cure’ or a ‘quick-fix’ but takes hard work, careful planning, formation and prayer. What it does do is give the parish a focus on mission. It can lift eyes up from navels and remind us that baptism has made us all ‘players in God’s plan’.

‘Commitment’ is fast becoming a dirty word in society – something temporary, arbitrary. Stewardship reminds us that this is not so for followers of Christ. Commitment, for us, is our response to God’s total commitment to us.

A FEAST FOR THE EYES!
I was up in Carlisle visiting St. Bede’s primary school. The head there, Tina Battle, suggested we go over to see the new icons in the church. Perhaps I hadn’t listened carefully but I expected to see a few small pictures round the walls. What I actually saw took my breath away! The whole interior of the church has been newly decorated and the ceiling above the sanctuary has been adorned with the most magnificent icons of Jesus’ baptism, the Last Supper and Pentecost. The back wall of the Blessed Sacrament chapel has a huge icon of the Madonna and Child which greets you through an archway from the back of the church. The colours are vibrant and the effect is at once thrilling and stilling. The way they have been painted manages to create an effect of ancient and modern. Like the stained glass windows of ancient cathedrals, the icons inspire a certain prayerful awe, while also catechising in quite subtle ways.

We need such sacred space to lift our hearts. We need colour and life. We need to be reminded that the ancient story of our faith is timeless. Tina told me that the children at the school have also been impressed. In an age of TV, cinema and computer, we underestimate the power of the visual at our peril. I hope St. Bede’s inspires a whole movement of liturgical art.

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE!
It’s a little word – a bit like ‘sorry’ – which can change your whole outlook on the day. In fact, if you say it often enough, it can change your life. And yet we are somehow a little reticent about using it. With those we love, we often think that we don’t need to say it. With those with whom we work, we may see it as a sign of weakness. ‘She’s done that piece of work but so she should she’s been paid.’

It can be the same in the parish. How often do we thank readers for helping us listen to the Scriptures? Or flower-arrangers for enhancing our celebration of Mass? How often do we thank our priests for preaching well or presiding in such a way that our prayer is deepened or our joy more powerfully expressed?

We don’t need to go over the top. That one little word speaks volumes if we say it and we mean it.

Gratitude is an attitude. It is at the root of our spirituality. It turns heavy obligation into how we express our love for Christ and for each other. In these discouraging times, it could be a revolutionary attitude because it is ever-hopeful. It can even look on failure and be thankful for what has been learned in the process.

Deep down we know this. The best translation I have heard of the word ‘Eucharist’ is ‘The gift you have given me is good.’ If we receive this gift with gratitude, as with all gifts, it has far more chance of being shared.