Catholics need a better understanding of Stewardship as a way of life; as living as disciples of Christ. We must develop and nurture our gifts and acknowledge that God will hold us accountable for how we use them. This aspect of Stewardship can be the least understood, but here is one way to think about how we use our gifts: Consider the gift of musical talent. People develop and use this gift by taking lessons and practicing. This image can serve as an analogy for all the ways in our lives that we can be good stewards of our gifts. We can educate ourselves – or, "take lessons - about what Stewardship is and we can continually „practice" being good stewards of our own special gifts. It is our responsibilities as parish leaders to foster this understanding within our parishes.