STEWARDSHIP A Path to Holiness STEWARDSHIP RENEWAL 2022
— Pope Francis Path to Holiness
“Be holy because I am holy”(1 Peter 1:16). 2 STEWARDSHIP A
Jesus wants us to be happy and He wants us to be holy. In fact, holiness is required of every baptized Christian. The good news is that holiness is within our reach and a holy life is a happy life — the deep and lasting kind of “happy” that only our Lord can give. So, what is this holiness we are called to attain? It is nothing less than the call to sainthood, living our whole lives in and through Christ, and reflecting His love and goodness everywhere we go. In his Apostolic Letter, On the Call for Holiness in our Modern World, Pope Francis encourages us by speaking of the “saints next door.” When we think of holiness we need not think only of those already-canonized saints. Rather, he says, “I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: In their daily perseverance, I see the holiness of the Church militant. A holiness found in our next-door neighbors, the middle class of holiness.” At St. Monica, Stewardship is the path to this holiness our Lord asks of us. And our Annual Renewal is a grace-filled time to set ourselves once again on this path that will make us saints. Through a stewardship way of life, we allow Christ to permeate every aspect of our being. We invite the Holy Spirit to direct us in the use of all that the Father has given us — our Time, our Talent, and our Treasure. A stewardship way of life is a holy way of life and it leads us to the happiness we were made for. “Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace.”
Sacred Moments
• Try reflecting each morning on the daily readings of the Catholic Church (found at usccb.org/bible/readings) to ask God what He wants to teach you in the day ahead.
• In addition to Sunday Mass, make Sunday dinner a priority as a time to reconnect with loved ones before the start of a busy week.
“Prayer is most precious, for it nourishes a daily commitment to love.”
TIME
• As a family, give each member a chance to say a “please,” “thank you” and “I’m sorry” prayer to God at the end of the day. End with an Our Father and Hail Mary.
— Pope Francis Prayer and the sacraments are food for the journey to holiness. We simply can’t be saints without them! Through them we obtain the grace and daily direction we need from our Lord for holy living. By committing Time for prayer and sacraments, we pause and give back to God a portion of this most precious gift of Time — especially now in our fast-paced world. Yet it is we who are truly blessed by the giving of this gift. After time spent with God, my next priority of time should be for my family and friends, whom I am called to love and serve most intimately.
3
• Take a moment to pray in your car on the way to or from work, offering your cares and your gratitude to the Lord.
• If you are not active in a prayer or faith formation group, join one to learn how to better love and follow our Lord and His teachings.
TALENT
• If you are already involved in one ministry, pray about an additional way you might serve. For instance, if you are involved in assisting with the Liturgy in some way, volunteer in an outreach to the community.
4
— Pope Francis
During this moment of Renewal, think about the talents the Lord has given you and your family. In gratitude, ask Him how you can use those talents to become the “saints next door,” loving others as He has first loved you.
• Spend some time prayerfully reading the ministry catalog to consider an area of service that will truly stretch you or an area where you can provide a real strength.
“The holiness to which the Lord calls you will grow throughsmall gestures.”
Sacred Service
Sacred Spending
“God asks everything of us,yet he also gives everythingto us. He does not want to enter our lives to cripple or diminish them, but to bringthem to fulfillment.” Pope Francis
—
• As a means to grow in holiness, commit to giving a percentage of your income to God through the parish offertory and be faithful to this commitment, even when you attend Mass elsewhere.
• Take a look at your current budget and spending habits and assess what expenses are preventing you from giving more selflessly.
TREASURE
Just as Time and Talents are gifts from God, so too, are material things, or Treasure. And just as our Time and Talents are meant to be used for our growth in holiness, the way we spend our treasure can also lead us to holiness. Does this mean we serve a “greedy” God, who wants to give, and then take back what He gives? Of course not! Anything He asks us to do is meant to make us happy in Him. Returning a portion of our treasure to the Lord teaches us to depend on Him and brings a peace and contentment the world cannot give. Will you take a leap of faith to try it and see for yourself?
5
. 6
RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS (RCIA)
Parish Leadership FINANCE COMMITTEE
For more information on our parish ministries, please contact the parish office at 317-253-2193 or parishoffice@stmonicaindy.org
2022
Use your leadership skills by serving on one of the five parish commissions (listed below) which organize our ministries and coordinate communication between the ministry leaders, the parish staff, and the priests.
PARISH COMMISSIONS
FAITH SUNDAYFORMATIONSCHOOL
PREPARATION
Catholic Education BAPTISMAL
Share your time and faith with students, preschool through eighth grade, as a catechist (teacher) or assistant in our Sunday School classes on Sunday morning.
Ministry Catalog
Help families prepare for the Sacrament of Baptism of their infants and young children. BIBLE STUDY Be a part of the team that plans and leads Bible studies, or sign up to increase your understanding of the Bible. Apóstoles de la Palabra in Spanish. Learn to defend your Catholic faith through Bible study.
Join the team that helps prepare adults to explore and learn about our Catholic faith in preparation for becoming Catholic.
Help make financial decisions for St. Monica by preparing the annual budget and monitoring our spending and financial results each month.
SPRED (SPECIAL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION)
Revive our week of activities based on Bible stories for children as a volunteer on the committee to organize the week or as an adult leader during the program.
Share your faith by being trained as a catechist or assistant to welcome and share your faith with a group of youth or adults who have developmental disabilities in a small community of faith.
ST. MONICA COMMISSIONSCHOOL
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
Justice for Life andEvangelization ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS/ (HOSTEDAL-ANONAT ST. MONICA)
Evaluate our St. Monica property and buildings to create short and long-term plans for maintenance and improvements. CARE Help to connect undocumented members of our community with Catholics who will provide emotional and spiritual support and accompaniment when these families interact with a local judicial system, the Department of Homeland Security, or Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), so no one stands alone.
COMMUNION FOR SICK AND HOMEBOUND
ST. MONICA SCHOOL PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO) Join the St. Monica School Parent Teacher Organization, which supports the students, faculty and staff through volunteering and fundraising for specific school needs.
BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
Take Communion to and visit with people who are unable to attend Mass in person.
7
Join people who want to recover from addiction and their families in a spiritually based 12-step program.
Submit your name to sc@smsindy.org to support the growth of our school by reviewing policies, creating of goals, and implementing community participation.
Provide support to mothers in crisis by offering support, rides to appointments, baby items, and resources for medical and prenatal care. RESPECT LIFE Raise parish awareness about issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and stem cell research to promote life from conception to natural death by participating in the March for Life and 40 Days for Life events, among other activities.
KAIROS PRISON MINISTRY
SISTER PARISH IN LEPATERIQUE, HONDURAS Travel to Lepaterique, Honduras on our yearly trip in June to meet and worship with our sister-parish brothers and sisters, serve as a host when they visit us, and take up the monthly donations collected for their parish.
SOCIAL JUSTICE OUTREACH Heighten awareness of social issues in the world such as the needs of the poor, oppressed and excluded, and seek responses in light of the Gospel “…to shape a society more respectful of human life and dignity, and more committed to justice and peace.”
FOOD PANTRY Feed the hungry by placing nonperishable items in the collection box in the narthex and then volunteer to distribute food on Wednesdays at the Crooked Creek Food Pantry.
GARDEN MINISTRY
EMBRACING CATHOLICS HOME Welcome Catholics back who have been away from the Church and help them get connected with the parish.
Use your green thumb to help grow vegetables for the food pantry and the parish in the St. Monica Giving Garden.
JUSTFAITH Explore the Gospel call to compassion and justice using a small-group process that invites participants to share a journey of faith and compassion that is both life-giving and challenging.
Visit the imprisoned by joining a team of people who go into prisons to pray, share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, and share meals and fellowship with the incarcerated over the course of four days or providing outside support for these weekends.
PROJECT GABRIEL
STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEECOMMUNICATIONSAND
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Provide the opportunity for people to enjoy a relaxing cup of coffee or juice in between the morning Masses by volunteering to organize or participate in this ministry.
Get involved with this organization of Catholic men that provides financial aid and assistance to our parish and to sick, disabled and needy members and their families.
Work at the St. Vincent de Paul warehouse one Saturday morning a month to pick up donations and distribute household items, Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts to people in need.
Polish those golf clubs and sign up to play in the Men’s Golf League on Monday evenings.
MEN’S GOLF LEAGUE
Count donations collected from the weekend Masses.
Stewardship andEngagement
Sign up to arrive early to weekend Masses to greet people in the narthex as they arrive to worship and help new parishioners become integrated into parish.
WELCOME AND PARISH ORIENTATION
Help create a culture of generosity and love at St. Monica by joining the group that publishes our monthly newsletter, holds a yearly retreat, and helps the parish discover how to live a stewardship way of life.
Celebrate Thanksgiving by providing food for the meal or eating Thanksgiving dinner at St. Monica with other parishioners, family and friends.
COFFEE AND CONVERSATION
THANKSGIVING MEAL
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
COUNTING MINISTRY
9
ADORATION
Join this group of people 55 years old and older for social events throughout the year. Worship and Prayer
Use your interior design skills to make St. Monica a beautiful place to worship each liturgical season.
DAILY REFLECTIONS IN ENGLISH
YOUNG AT HEART
ART AND ENVIRONMENT
PRAYER TREE Subscribe to receive prayer requests from prayertree@stmonicaindy.org from parishioners who are in need of prayer.
SMALL CHURCH COMMUNITIES
Sign up to become part of a small group of people that meets on a regular basis to study our Catholic faith and support each other on their faith journeys.
Commit to a scheduled slot to spend time in prayer with the Blessed Sacrament from 6-9 p.m. on TuesdayThursday evenings, or overnight from 9 p.m.-6 a.m. on the third Saturday of the month.
Obtain and prepare supplies for Mass, including laundering the linens used at each Mass.
Allow children in fourth through 12th grades to experience the beauty of the Mass up close by serving at the altar for weekend Masses, weddings and funerals.
MASS COORDINATORS
MUSIC MINISTRIES (CANTORS, CHOIRS AND MUSICIANS)
Become trained as an Extraordinary Minister and help distribute the Eucharist at Mass.
EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION
Put your organizational skills to work by making sure preparations are in place for our community to celebrate the Mass.
ALTAR GUILD/SACRISTAN
ALTAR SERVERS
SPIRITUAL LIFE COMMITTEE
Share your musical gifts with St. Monica by joining the choir, playing an instrument or becoming a cantor.
LECTORS Proclaim the Word of God by announcing the first and second readings at weekend Masses as a trained lector.
Focus on the spiritual growth of the parish by offering parish missions and other activities to help St. Monica grow in our love of Jesus Christ. USHERS Be the face of St. Monica as you welcome people to Mass, help them find seats, take up the collection, release people for Communion, and distribute bulletins. 10
Join the team of writers who send daily reflections via email to more than 2,700 subscribers.
MINISTRY
Volunteer as a married couple to assist engaged couples with their couple-relationship inventories as they complete the marriage preparation program. Training provided.
Pull on those bowling shoes and join a team of St. Monica bowlers every other Sunday evening from September to April.
Assist the priest and families at visitations and funerals, and support people through the grief process.
SPONSORS
MOWING MINISTRY
MARRIAGE PREPARATION
SUNSHINE CLUB
SPORTS Register your third through eighthgrade child to play a variety of team sports sponsored by the Catholic Youth Organization.
WEDDING COORDINATORS
CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONYOUTH(CYO)
Help make the St. Monica campus a beautiful place to visit by joining one of the five teams that rotate each week to take care of our lawn.
BEREAVEMENT
YOUNG ADULTS
BOWLING LEAGUE
MARRIAGE IN FOCUS
11
Connect and engage with other married or engaged couples as they meet after the Saturday evening Mass for dinner, speakers, outings, and other activities to strengthen the vocation of marriage.
SCOUTING
Work with couples on one of the happiest days of their lives by serving as the liaison between the couple and St. Monica, and attending rehearsals and weddings.
Sign your child up for Cub Scouts (boys and girls grades K-5), Scouts BSA (boys and girls ages 11-18), or Girl Scouts (girls ages K – 12) to experience fun, age-based indoor and outdoor activities to help your child build self-confidence and self-reliance while making the world a better place.
Meet together with those 19-39 years old for fellowship through social, liturgical, service, and athletic activities. YOUTH MINISTRY
Promote a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church to youth in seventh12th grades by joining our dynamic programming as a teen or supporting the activities as an adult volunteer.
Youth and Family Life
Put your cooking talents to use by preparing and serving mercy meals after funerals and delivering meals to people experiencing illness.
6131 N. Michigan Rd. | Indianapolis, Indiana 46228-1298 (317) 253-2193 | www.stmonicaindy.org In today’s culture, it is easy to “say” one thing and “do” another. By filling out a Commitment Card, you are committing to a certain course of action. When God calls us, He doesn’t want us to say “yes” and then never do it. He desires that we be faithful to Him, faithful to His commands and faithful to our word. When we fill out a Commitment Card, we are saying, “God, I choose to commit myself to You and to a life lived for You. With Your grace, may I do as You desire.” The Commitment Card helps each of us to become better stewards, and when that happens, we become a faith-filled people, ready to live our lives in gratitude for all He has given us! Why Fill Out a Commitment Card? Please keep until Fall 2023 • Complete it at home and bring it to Mass on Commitment Weekend, September 24/25. • Complete it at home and mail it back to the parish. • Complete one at Mass on Commitment Weekend. WAYS TO COMPLETE YOUR COMMITMENT CARD Cristo Renueva Su Parroquia CYO Sports/Deportes CYO Daily Reflections in English Embracing Catholics Home/AcogiendoCatólicos que Regresan Eucharistic ExtraordinarioMinister/MinistrodelaEucaristía Faith Formation Sunday School/Formación de Fe-Doctrina Finance Committee/ Comité deFinanzas Food Pantry/Despensa de Comida Garden Ministry/Ministerio del Jardín JustFaith/Solamente Fe Kairos Prison Ministry/Ministerio dePrisión Kairos Knights of Columbus/Caballeros deColón Lectors/Lectores Marriage in Focus/Matrimonio enEnfoque Marriage Prep Sponsors/Esponsorespara Preparación Matrimonial Mass Coordinators/Coordinador deMisa Matrimonios con Propósito Men’s Golf League/Club de Hombresde Golf Mowing Ministry/Ministerio de Cortarel Zacate Music MusicalesMinistries/Ministerios Parish Commissions /Comisiones de laParroquia Parish Pastoral Council/ConsejoParroquial Pastoral Prayer Tree/Árbol de Oraciones Project Gabriel/Proyecto Gabriel RCIA/RICA Respect Life/Respeto por la Vida Retiros en Español para PreparaciónMatrimonial Scouting/Scouts First & Last Name/Nombre y Apellido (una tarjeta por familia) Street City/CiudadAddress/DirecciónState/Estado ZIP/Código Postal Telephone (important)/Teléfono (Importante) Email/Correo Electrónico (Importante) After completion, please bring this card to Mass, or mail usingthe envelope provided. Thank you and God bless you! Una vez llena, traiga esta tarjeta a Misa, o envíela por correoutilizando el sobre provisto. ¡Gracias y que Dios le bendiga! Talent/Talento Ministries/Ministerios (cont.) Ministries/Ministerios (cont.) Sister Parish/Parroquia Hermana Small Church Communities/PequeñasComunidades Cristianas Social Justice Outreach/Ayuda deJusticia Social Spiritual Life Committee/Comité deVida Espiritual SPRED St. Monica School Commission/Comisión de la Escuela St. Monica School Parent TeacherOrganization (PTO)/ OrganizaciónPadres-Maestro de la Escuela Sta.Mónica (PTO) St. Vincent de Paul/San Vicente de Paul Stewardship & CorresponsabilidadCommunications/&Comunicaciones Sunshine Club/Comidas para FuneralesSunshine Club Thanksgiving Meal/Comida de Acciónde Gracias Ushers/Acomodadores Vacation Bible School/La Escuelita dela Biblia en Vacaciones Wedding Coordinators/Coordinadorade Bodas Welcome Committee/ Comité deBienvenida Young Adults/Jóvenes Adultos Young at Heart/Jóvenes de Corazón Youth Ministry/Ministerio de Jóvenes Continued on back panels/continúa en el siguiente panel Talent/Talento 6131 N. Michigan Rd.Indianapolis, Indiana 46228-1298(317) 253-2193 | www.stmonicaindy.org