Gospel of the day

From the Gospel according to

Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of wheat.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light.”

Are We Shrewd?

Through this parable, the Lord teaches us that we must use all our gifts and talents wisely and shrewdly, collaborating with Him in building His Kingdom.

Does this mean we should act wrongly or deceive others? Of course not. It means that we should bear witness to the beauty and goodness of our sacrament by making the best use of every “weapon” available to us.

If I am kind, then I will use my kindness shrewdly for good.

If I am intelligent and hardworking, I will place that intelligence at the service of the Lord.

If I am a good organiser, I will offer my skills wherever they are needed, for the greater glory of God.

Brought into Married Life

Peter: Good morning, Mary. How did you sleep? I noticed you’ve been awake for quite a while.

Mary: Good morning. I’m sorry if I disturbed you. I woke up very early and couldn’t stop thinking about what we heard at yesterday’s Opening Day for the new term. I think we’ve been nourished and formed by the wonderful catecheses of Saint John Paul II in our Marital Love Project group, and we do help with the retreats — but perhaps it’s time we took another step forward.

Peter: I thought the same. It really was a beautiful start-of-year gathering, but it gave us plenty to reflect on.

Mary: Peter, do you think we’re being a bit selfish by not offering ourselves in service to Our Lady’s Project?

Peter: Well… I wouldn’t go as far as calling us selfish, but yes — we do need to use all the gifts the Lord has given us, so that this treasure can reach many more couples.

Mary: Then, if you agree, we could call our coordinators and ask them to tell us more about the different areas we could help with — and see where our skills might be useful.

Peter: That sounds wonderful. And you, my love, seem more beautiful to me every day. Come on — give me a kiss and let’s offer the day to the Lord!

 

Mother,

You placed all your gifts at the service of your Son.

Help us not to fall into the temptation of laziness;

teach us to discern our talents

and to put them at the service of God’s Kingdom.

Amen. Blessed and praised be You forever!