A tip of the hat to Father Mark Botzet for letting me post his homily from November 8, 2026.
I took the liberty of changing some of the transcript’s punctuation so that it matches this blog’s style, and added headings. Here’s Fr. Botzet’s homily (Stewardship Sunday) and the usual somewhat-related links (Acting As If Beliefs Matter):
Stewardship Sunday
Father Mark Botzet’s Homily (November 8, 2026)
Brothers and Sisters, we need you.
We cannot do it on our own.
You have heard this statistic before —
5% do 95% of the work.
The 5% are getting tired.
Some are saying, I can no longer do this.
Others have already lost it.
If we want the parish to stay alive and healthy, we realize that a personal invite is one of the best ways to get people to acknowledge their gifts.
If you are needing a personal invite, this homily is it.
Gifts
God has placed this message in Fr. Kevin’s, and mine, heart to ask you.
You see, at the Heart of a Parish is stewardship.
It is a realization that everything in our lives is a gift.
Our lives are a gift.
All we have and all we are is a gift.
Everything that we have is a gift.
Each and every one of you has a gift.
A gift from God.
God gives these gifts in an abundance for a reason.
A gift that God is calling you to use.
God gives us the abilities when it is needed.
Equipping us to do things we never imagined.
To make our parishes thrive.
That time is now.
We need you.
Needs and New Tech
You will find a sheet in the bulletin.
We really ask that you fill it out online.
At parishesontheprairie.org.
We need your name, your address and contact information updated.
Even if you have given us that information in the past.
We need to get that information into our new system that we are transitioning into.
Also, we need you to register again for a ministry you are already doing.
Why is This So Important?
If you want us to take care of your sacramental needs, us priests often need to be able to reach back out to you.
What you do not realize is this.
That Fr. Kevin and I have the ability to pull up your address.
When there is an emergency.
Somebody is dying and is in need of the Anointing of the Sick.
We have an APP on our phone that we can use to contact you by phone.
Maybe you invited us over after a baptism or for a home visit.
It gives us driving directions to your home.
It tells me how much time it will take to get there also.
Making sure that the shepherd does not become one of the lost sheep in the large acreage of this ACC [Area Catholic Community].
Opportunities and Needs
You will also notice that there are 32 opportunities that are available.
You are wanted and your help is needed.
You are the Catholic Community.
As we come together to form this mystical body of Christ.
Each gift in some way builds and maintains the Church.
Like the Apostles we are called to go out.
As Brothers and Sisters in Christ, know that you are loved by God.
God wants you.
God wants your gift.
You are needed.
Today take a moment to ask God: what gifts did you give me?
Gift Bearers, the Community, Building a Legacy
Do you know —
Right now in our churches we need gift bearers.
This ministry might appear that all you have to do just just get up and go to the back of the church. And walk down the center Aisle with the gifts.
It seems simple.
It seems small.
Do you know that —
The Church does not dictate how these representatives are chosen.
But the gift bearers are your special envoys that are your personal representatives of your community.
They are not elected or appointed.
The ushers might ask you to do it.
It can be multigenerational from children to grandparents.
What better way to get your 3 and 5 year olds involved in the church!
Start them young!
So what are they doing in this ministry?
They are coming before God.
With your gifts.
The wine, the bread, your financial offerings that you gifted to God.
These gifts are needed for the sacrifice of the Mass to occur on the Altar.
Without them we have nothing.
I often wonder what is keeping people from such an amazing ministry!
What is keeping you from God?
Got wants you to share your gift with Him.
Father, what gift?
It is the one that God has placed on your mind right now.
It is the one that jumps out at you when you look through the list of 32 opportunities.
32 opportunities to serve God.
It is the one that you are now pondering.
The Lord our God is saying —
‘Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us?’
Then I said,
‘Here I am, Lord!
Send me.’
In the words of or Blessed Mother Mary —
‘Be it done unto me according to your word.‘
Acting As If Beliefs Matter
Finally, the usual links:
- “250 Years: Choosing Law and a Light Yoke” (July 11, 2026)
Guest post: Father Mark Botzet - “Our Vocational Calling” (June 20, 2026)
Guest post: Father Mark Botzet - “Feverish, Weak; But Other Than That, a Pretty Good Week” (February 5, 2022)
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