I want to begin by sharing an honest experience from the past several months of my life. A year ago, this parish was the last place I imagined I would be. I didn’t seek a large parish. I aspired to be a good and holy priest, but I also liked comfort, time for myself, and being close to family. Then I got an email from the bishop. Suddenly, everything was about to change.
After talking with the bishop, the first person I wanted to speak to was my mother. She would understand. She has a remarkable way of living stewardship through her life. She raised eleven children, gave herself entirely to her family, and even when diagnosed with MS, she remained joyful. When I became a priest, she gave me to the Church, trusting God’s plan. And now, when I was called to move again, she gave me away once more—with joy and peace, not sadness.
Her response reminded me of what true stewardship looks like. Those who live a life of giving, of obedience, and of trust experience a deep joy. My mother lives this way every day. She has received more than she could have imagined because she has learned to give everything back to God. Her life shows how obedience to God’s will brings freedom, joy, and peace.
This has been my experience as well. Obedience and trust in God’s call—though not always easy—have been incredibly freeing. True stewardship binds obedience, joy, and trust together in the heartbeat of discipleship. We trust that what God gives us—our time, talents, responsibilities, even unexpected assignments—is for our good and His glory. That trust leads to obedience, and obedience leads to a joy that is deep, abiding, and independent of life going perfectly.
In these first months here, I’ve begun to see the beauty of this in our parish community. Joy comes when we live with open hearts, giving back what God has entrusted to us, not just doing more or signing up for more ministries. It is a way of life where everything is received as gift and everything is returned in love. In that yes, in that surrender, there is true freedom—the freedom to serve, to love, and to rejoice in whatever God asks of us.
Father James Schibi, Pastor