Formation: The Third Pillar of Stewardship
The third pillar of stewardship is formation, and we take that pillar very seriously at our parish. Our formation ministries, especially for our young people, are crucial to our present and future success at remaining vibrant and loving people engaged at building God’s kingdom.
But let us remember, that formation is not just about educating our young people, but is a necessity for all of us to continue to learn and grow in the knowledge and love of God. This is especially true during the Liturgy of the Word at every Mass we attend. Scripture is always an opportunity to share in our focus on learning to live as a Christ in this world. The process is not always perfect, the scripture may not always be very illuminating, and the homily may be a bit off the mark, but that should not prevent us from some degree of enlightenment after hearing God’s Word.
Another means of formation is active involvement in one of the many ministries of our parish. To engage in ministering for the sake of our church’s mission and in service to others is always an opportunity to learn and grow. Simply being with our brothers and sisters in a ministerial capacity increases our appreciation of one another and enriches our social life. The services we provide engage us in the gospel call to serve one another. This is especially true of our Social Justice Ministry, which cuts to the heart of the gospel and Jesus’ own life.
The experiences that our parishioners reflect upon are life changing and life giving, in a very formative way. People so engaged are, in a sense, re-formed in the image of discipleship. I still look back in amazement at the effect that my first trip to Ecuador had upon my sense of self, as well as on my appreciation for God’s grace in my own life.
In the coming years, we will take more opportunities to highlight the various ministries that our parish supports. To the many of you who work in and sustain these efforts, I offer my profound thanks. For those of you who are contemplating involvement in our ministry efforts, I urge you to talk to parishioners who are involved and who see it - not just as an opportunity to help the church - but also as a formative moment to grow your spirituality in service to others. It can be, as I mentioned before, life giving and life changing in many ways you never imagined.
Why not give it a chance and live the gospel more completely than you ever imagined, in answering Jesus’ call to discipleship | 
