Twelve Wicker Baskets

In the Gospel, Jesus fed 5,000 with only five loaves and two fish. After the crowd was satisfied, there were 12 wicker baskets left over. God provides the abundance. In each episode of this podcast, we will explore, with pastoral leaders and development professionals, all the many ways God meets the spiritual and temporal needs of our parish communities, our Catholic schools and the diocesan church. And not only meets those needs but provides in abundance.

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Twelve Wicker Baskets

The Journey to Deep Stewardship

November 30, 2022 • Steier Group • Episode 10

Quentin Schesnuik grew up in the rural prairies of Saskatchewan and, after graduating from university, began his career in banking. After moving to Toronto for work, he helped an inner-city charity establish a planned giving program to assist the poor. Listening to their stories, he discovered their great wisdom about what matters most in life. Encountering the Lord powerfully in the sacrament of penance and in a return to the faith, Quentin carried his financial skills to work for the Church and eventually came to his present position in the Department of Spiritual Affairs at the archdiocese to guide their 226 parishes into the spirituality of “deep stewardship.”

In 2018, Thomas Cardinal Collins, the Archbishop of Toronto, issued a pastoral letter on stewardship in which he describes what the spirituality of deep stewardship means.
In contrast to a shallow stewardship that focuses only on financial giving, deep stewardship is – to quote the pastoral letter – “a profound inner conversion as individuals and as a community in which we become committed to living generously in every way as the gospel calls us to do.” Quentin noted that stewardship is “a way of being” rather than a program or event. It’s about knowing where God has touched people in their lives and then inviting them to give that gift back to someone.

Even the archdiocese has structured stewardship under the Chancellor of Spiritual Affairs, emphasizing that stewardship is not just or only about financial matters, but ultimately about the soul. The archdiocesan Stewardship Commission and Stewardship Sunday serve as ways to instill a conscious awareness of stewardship in every parish community. The widow praised by the Lord for her generosity was ultimately a steward, living stewardship day in and day out. We can assist each other to live the same way.

Guest: Quentin Schesnuik
Title: Associate Director of Parish Vitality and Stewardship, Office of Formation for Discipleship, Archdiocese of Toronto

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