Practicing Faith

It’s an interesting turn of phrase. Doctors practice medicine; legal minds practice law. We use the same term to talk about our faith. What value is the gifted surgeon or learned attorney who doesn’t practice their God-given skills? Similarly, what good is our faith if we don’t practice it?

By promoting stewardship education in our parishes, Live It helps to proactively spread the practice of faith, strengthening not only the lives of our parishioners, but also the schools that educate our children.

The idea was borrowed from a diocesan-wide effort, initiated in Wichita, Kansas in 1985, that called for parishioners there to give generously of their time, talents and income to the church. In reward for parishioner participation, free tuition was offered at the diocese’s elementary schools and four high schools. Today in the diocese of Wichita, 80% of the members attend mass, versus the countrywide average of just 35%. Plus, volunteerism is at an all time high and schools remain tuition-free to active families.

By instituting our Live It initiative locally through our stewardship program, we hope for a similar success in our parishes. We aspire to have our pews filled with our parishioners, our children enjoying tuition-free education, and our families rediscovering their faith… and practicing it daily.