An Excerpt from Father Schibi’s Pastoral Address
In the life of stewardship—obedience, joy, and trust—are not three separate virtues or paths we choose at different moments; they are all bound together in the same heartbeat of discipleship.
True stewardship begins with trust: trusting that what God gives us—whether it’s time, talents, treasures (responsibilities), or even unexpected assignments—is always for our good and His glory. That trust leads us to obedience—the willingness to say “yes,” even when we don’t fully understand the “why.”
When we live in that posture of obedience and trust, something amazing happens: joy begins to blossom. Not the kind of joy that depends on everything going our way, but the kind of deep, abiding joy that comes from knowing we are exactly where God wants us to be. It’s the same joy my mother has—not because life has been easy, but because she has lived it as a gift to God. And it’s the same joy I’ve begun to experience here—not because I planned it or earned it, but because I finally let go and said “yes.”
That’s what stewardship truly is: a way of living where everything is received as a gift and everything is given back in love. It’s not just about doing more or signing up for one more ministry, but about living with an open heart—trusting that God can do more with our “yes” than we could ever do with our comfort. And in that yes, in that surrender, there is freedom—the freedom to serve, the freedom to love, and the freedom to rejoice in whatever God asks of us.
So yes, in stewardship, obedience, joy, and trust are really one and the same—they are the marks of a heart that belongs fully to God. And the more we live this way, the more we discover that the happiest people are not those who have everything figured out, but those who have learned to give everything back.
Father James Schibi, Pastor