If you are like me, the words “steward” or “stewardship” are not something you hear everyday.  About the only time I hear these words are in reference to a cruise ship or a church capital campaign.  For all the times that I have heard the words of time, talent and treasure used to explain the Catholic use of the word stewardship, I have always been more taken by a different notion.  As a boy I loved reading fantasy and by far my favorite was The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.  In the story the Kings of Gondor entrust their city and kingdom to stewards who will watch over and govern the land in their absence.  In Tolkien’s vision, the Stewards are charged with the governance and guardianship of the kingdom until the true king might reclaim his throne. This governance wasn’t just protecting the borders and maintaining the peace.  It was guardian and transmitter of a great culture, tradition and way of life.  It would have meant little to the returning Kings to have their buildings safeguarded but their values and culture lost. 

As Catholics we are certainly stewards of the many blessings God has given us with regard to our time, talent and treasures, and we should use them well.  But we are also stewards of a great tradition of faith, service, education, and prayer. Our role is to maintain our rich tradition and way of life by living them and passing them on to our children so that they in turn will be good stewards.

It is interesting to note that at the end of the book the stewards are not “replaced” by the king but “re-placed”–given a new and fuller role. The return of Jesus Christ our King is thus not the end of our stewardship but its culmination and reward.