By Matt Potter
My good friend Deacon Doug Vlchek, Ph. D., or Deacon Doctor Doug as I like to call him, is a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Cheyenne, serving at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish in Jackson, Wyoming. A former executive for a Fortune 500 company, Deacon Doug obtained his doctorate from the Graduate Theological Foundation and Oxford University, writing his dissertation titled “A Theology for Stewardship.”
Stewardship has been his life’s work, both in the corporate world and in his diaconal vocation. His dissertation makes fascinating reading, and he has boiled it down to “Four Truths” about stewardship. Each “truth” is supported by Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and The Magisterium.
Truth No. 1: Everything was created by God.
- Sacred scripture: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth “(Genesis 1:1). “You are the LORD, you alone; you made the heavens, the highest heavens and their host, the earth and ALL that is upon it” (Nehemiah 9:6).
- Sacred tradition: “Out of nothing, and without its having previous existence, God made the universe and everything in it to exist through His Word.” St. Athanasius. “God made everything; He made everything not from any necessity, nor for the sake of supplying any want, but solely from His own goodness” (St. Augustine).
- The Magisterium: “I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth and of all things visible and invisible” (Nicene Creed).
Truth No. 2: Everything belongs to God.
- Sacred scripture: “For mine is the world and all that fills it, says the Lord” (Psalm 50-12). ”Everything belongs to God, and all things were created by his power” (Hebrews 2:10).
- Sacred tradition: “Recognize to whom you owe the fact that you exist, that you breathe, that you understand, that you are wise. Who has blessed you with rain, with food …with houses…? Where did you get all this, and from whom?” (Saint Gregory of Nazianzen).
- The Magisterium: “Everything belongs to God; the universe and history belong to God; and without a constant awareness of that truth, man cannot serve in the world…” St. Pope John Paul II, “Deis Domini.”
Truth No. 3: God gave it all to us to take care of on His behalf.
- Sacred scripture: “God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth” (Genesis 1:27-28).
- Sacred tradition: “Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need” (St. Thomas Aquinas). “Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others” (St. Augustine).
- The Magisterium: “According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess; these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor” (Pope Benedict XVI, Message for Lent 2008).
Truth No. 4: Discipleship demands stewardship; and, Jesus is the teacher AND the model
- Sacred scripture: “And Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me.’” (John 1:43, Matthew 4:19).
- Sacred tradition: “If we are not to lie when we call ourselves ‘Christians,’ we must bear witness to it by our way of living” ( Gregory of Nyssa). “Christ is formed in we who receive Christ’s mold…by imitating Him we become, as far as possible to our condition, what Christ is” (St. Augustine).
- The Magisterium: “In virtue of this Catholicity each individual contributes through their special gifts to the good of others and of the whole Church. Through the common sharing of gifts and through the common effort to attain fullness in unity, the whole and each of the parts receive increase” (“Lumen Gentium,” Dogmatic Constitution on the Church).
That’s a good place to stop for now. Next up: digging deeper.
As always, thanks for reading. I would love to hear from you. Write to me at [email protected].