Stewardship and Development

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, yours are the eyes through which He is go about doing good, yours are the hands with which He is to bless people now…”
–St. Teresa of Avila

Giving makes the Archdiocese of Omaha what it is today. A place where Catholics give a multitude of talents – like faith, love, and prayers, to those more tangible like a hand, a meal, and money. For generations, we’ve tapped into our talents, talents that God has generously bestowed upon us here in northeast Nebraska. He expects those of us with more talents and treasure to help those unable to help themselves – for whatever reason. Doing so means that we can achieve our mission here on earth – To be an expression of Jesus’ love to all souls.

We work with our parishes developing leadership that secures the financial resources to support, sustain and enhance parish and archdiocesan priorities. Parishes truly wishing to make stewardship a way of life for disciples, families and their communities take a comprehensive approach to stewardship education and formation. We’re here to help you set up well-rounded programs that are rooted in Christian discipleship.

What is Stewardship?

Stewardship involves a lifelong process of study, reflection, prayer, and action. To make stewardship a way of life requires a change of heart and a new understanding of what it means to follow Jesus without counting the cost.

Stewardship is a way of thanking God for all our blessings by returning to God a portion of the many gifts that we have been given. It involves the intentional, planned and proportionate giving of all we have.

Stewardship is living a life of total accountability and responsibility and acknowledges God as the Creator and Owner of all while we act as caretakers of His gifts.

Stewardship encourages everyone to participate in the task of building the Kingdom of God. He has given each of us certain things, and we are responsible for caring for them and accountable for what we do with them.

Four Quadrants of Stewardship

To Follow Faithfully

This is a call to be faithful and loyal to the teachings of the Church—to practice our faith consistently and sacramentally. Following faithfully defines itself in our lives as Catholics and Christians. It is evident in our prayer lives, family lives, attendance at and participation in the life of the parish Church.

To Share Gratefully

Do we give and share in an organized and proportionate way? Do we share not only of our resources, but also of our very lives, of our time and talents? The grateful steward finds a sense of peace, justice and contentment in his/her giving.

To Live Responsibly

How do we live as stewards of our environment? How good are we as citizens and members of our communities, states, nations and global community? We need to be involved, and perhaps even be leaders, in those areas.

To Possess Loosely

Letting go—of possessions, of time, of all those things in which we feel we have vested interest—is perhaps the most difficult thing for us to do in the midst of a society that seems to honor, reward and emphasize the opposite behavior and goals. We are taught to gather and to tightly maintain a hold on what seem to be needs, rather than wants. Possessing loosely is our daily challenge in being good stewards.