Forming Good Stewards - This week's gospel message

"For three years I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down! Why should I exhaust the soil?" Luke 13:1-9

Jesus tells of a gardener who pleads to save a fig tree so he can cultivate it and hope to make it productive. In chapters one and two of Genesis, God reveals that He created man and woman and gave them dominion over His Garden---all creation.

Bishop Robert Morneau poignantly describes how God made us stewards of many gardens; the gardens of our faith, our body, our family, our mind, our creativity, our many abilities and most importantly, our ability to reason and our free will. He points out that all of the gardens belong to God and poses the question, “How are we caring for our gardens? Are we being good stewards? Have we cultivated our gardens or let them go fallow? Are our gardens as productive as God intended? If not, it is not too late. The first step is to identify and accept responsibility for the gardens that God has entrusted to our care. Do not be afraid. We have Jesus as our helper in our garden.