By Anna Kampa
To be honest, when I was asked to write about treasure as it relates to stewardship, I felt a bit of a knot in my stomach. Too often, conversations about stewardship are reduced to money and budgets, to keeping the lights on and paying the bills. But stewardship, when faithfully practiced, is so much more than what we place in the collection basket or how we share the contents of our wallet.
At its heart, stewardship is a way of life. It is a lifelong commitment to discipleship that embraces four pillars of prayer, hospitality, formation and service. It flows from the biblical principle that everything we are and everything we have is a gift from God. It calls us to see ourselves not as owners, but as stewards who receive these blessings with gratitude, manage them responsibly and return them with increase to the Lord.
When we speak of treasure in the context of stewardship, the Gospels are our guide. While the world often measures generosity by quantity, Christ invites us to measure by trust, love and relationship. God, the source of all good things, does not seek our giving out of guilt or obligation. Rather, he invites us to participate joyfully in his mission. Stewardship of treasure is not about financial transactions — it is about our relationship with God, our trust in his providence and our transformation of gratitude into generosity.
This is why our giving should never be reduced to merely “paying the bills.” Every offering, no matter the size, becomes part of something greater. A dollar given in faith helps to feed the hungry, to form the young in the ways of discipleship, to provide the sacraments, to care for the sick and to welcome the stranger. When we give, we join a network of grace that extends far beyond what we can see or imagine.
Like prayer or fasting, giving is a spiritual discipline that draws us closer to God. Just as fasting frees us from our notions of comfort, and prayer reorients our hearts toward the Lord, intentional generosity loosens our attachment to material possessions. It reminds us that our income, savings and possessions are not the source of ultimate security, but are temporary trusts from God, granted to us for the sake of his kingdom.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in their pastoral letter “Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response,” encourage us to make our giving planned, proportionate and sacrificial. When we give intentionally and consistently, generosity becomes not an occasional impulse but a faithful habit — part of our very identity as disciples.
We must remember that God cares less at the amount of our gifts than about the love they reveal. My office often receives donations of one or two dollars accompanied by heartfelt notes apologizing for the small size of the gift, sometimes accompanied by explanations of financial hardship coupled with a deep desire to help sustain diocesan ministries. These sacrificial offerings move me profoundly. They remind me of Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the Widow’s Mite, where a woman gave only two small coins, yet her gift was greater than all others because she gave from her scarcity, not from her surplus, and with complete trust in God (Mark 12:41–44).
At its core, stewardship of our treasure is about love — love for God, love for neighbor and love for the mission of the Church. When we give from a place of gratitude, our offering becomes more than money — it becomes an act of worship. As St. Paul reminds us, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). In giving, we draw nearer to the heart of Christ, who gave everything for us.
So, the next time you think about “treasure” and stewardship, I invite you to recognize the deeper truth. It is so much more than numbers, budgets or bills. It is about trust. It is about love. It is about joining God’s mission of hope and mercy in the world.
Anna Kampa is the diocesan director of stewardship and development.