Stewardship is giving back to your church by using your God given gifts, talent, time, and money. God has given us a "lease" to life each and every day, therefore, we need to reinforce our Christ-centered life by giving back to our church and its members rather than being self-focused.

As stewards of God, we as Christians must ask whether God would be pleased in how we use his talents. It is the duty of each person to live for the glory of God and as we practice out talents, they grow. All gifts come from God and it does not matter whether we are given a lot or a little of a particular gift, but rather what matters is that we put to use what we have been given, and not hide that gift away.

I will never forget the first time I sang on the altar as a young cantor, I was paralyzed with fear. When the time came for me to sing the responsorial psalm, I nervously crossed over the sanctuary and said a quick prayer to get me through it without even realizing what I was singing. The psalm was "Lord on the day I called for help, you answered me." Instead of focusing on all the musical aspects of the psalm, I listened closely to God's words and even though I squeaked my way through it, I knew God was proud. I was managing my talent in a way that was pleasing to God. I realize that God owns both the material and spiritual things of our lives and most importantly he is the source of all our supply. I feel as if I was pushed in this direction to serve God by some of the events that occurred in my life.

Many of you know the story of the little engine that could. It tells the story of a tiny steam engine who one day faced a huge problem. How was he to get a load of toys over the mountain to the anxiously awaiting children? The little engine had to decide to try or not to try to climb the mountain. Would he have enough strength and power in his engine? The only way for him to find out, was to try. Now we all know that there are plenty of things in life for which our wanting alone will not be enough, and yet life is filled with opportunities that we miss for no other reason than we are just too reluctant to try.

I was once that little steam engine faced with a huge problem. How was I to get through the death of my younger sister? I had to try, so each day I used music as my outlet, a way to express myself. Some days I would play and sing very angry songs being mad at the tragedy that happened to my family. Now many years later when I express myself through music, I thank God. I thank God for my ability to praise him through my talent of singing and also for giving me my sister to inspire me to become the Christian that I am today. I feel my sister was a gift that ended abruptly, but instilled in me strength and love for both God and music.

As I give my time singing in church I reflect God's life within myself, and remember that God is a giver. I look forward to music rehearsals each week that help me to prepare to cantor on the weekends. However, I don't like to sing "just notes," but rather make my singing prayerful. I would like to share with you a prayer I say before each mass in order to serve God properly:

Lord of life I pause in prayer before the beginning of this service.
Fill my voice with love for you.
May the notes that will sound find harmony as they pass through my heart.
May the song of my mouth be a hymn of praise to you.
May I seek by my voice to give glory to you, rather than to bring attention to myself.
May I seek humble service to the parish community by the sharing of this gift, with which you, my Lord, have blessed me.
Use me Lord of Rhythm and harmony as you would play upon a hollow reed,
So that those whom I am called to serve may be attuned to your spirit and moved to prayer.
May my gift of service truly be my prayer to you this day.
Amen

There is an expectation that we will faithfully use our gifts. We might call it "spiritual speculation" on God's investment. When we are called upon to give an accounting of how we have used the resources we have been given… the question will not be "Do you still have it in your hand?" But rather, "how well did you use it?"