Category: Neighbourhoods

CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READING

We have entered the second week of Advent, and we spend our time patiently waiting in anticipation of the celebration of Christmas. But, as today’s readings remind us, we are to actively wait by preparing our hearts and minds through prayer and repentance, and by proclaiming the Good News that God became man for our sake so that He could suffer and die and then come again to bring us into heavenly glory

We are privileged to know the One of whom John spoke, the Messiah whom the Jews long awaited. He has come, and, as His disciples, we are to proclaim Him to the ends of the Earth. So, as we wait to celebrate Christmas, as stewards we are called to preach the Good News – to use our time our talents and our treasure to proclaim Him boldly through the way we live our lives.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS (13th Nov)

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable of a master who leaves on a journey, and entrusts three of His servants with his money while he’s gone. When he returns to find that two servants have wisely invested his money, he is very pleased and offers them a greater share in his riches, while the one man who did nothing with what he’d been given is thrown outside “where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.” He is punished in an extreme way.

This is clearly another parable about the Parousia (the second coming of the Lord at the end of time). The Lord has entrusted us with much here and now, and when He returns, or when we are brought to Him upon our death, He expects that we will have used what He has given us wisely.

All that we have – our time, our talents, and our treasure – comes by way of gift from Him. And, so, as stewards we are to care for it as such – to recognize it as gift and to use it for His greater glory. What each of us has been given is different, just like the three servants in today’s Gospel, so He does not expect us to “measure up” to our neighbor, per se. Rather, He expects us to use our gifts to the best of our ability in His service – to take care of our responsibilities (ourselves and our families) and then to reach out in service to others (at the parish level and beyond).

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

In today’s Gospel, Matthew’s recount of the 10 virgins sits amidst numerous parables about the heavenly kingdom.

In fact, all three of the readings today are eschatological in nature. In the first reading, the writer personifies a heavenly wisdom, making note that this wisdom, which is clearly beyond this world, is readily available for those who prudently live their lives seeking it. That which is the only wisdom that satisfies “graciously appears” to those who “keep vigil.”

In the second reading, Paul addresses the Thessalonians about those who have died, assuring them that, through His death and resurrection, Christ has won the victory for us. Therefore, those who die in Christ will be raised.

So, it is clear that the message of today’s readings is one that transcends this world. They communicate to us about the hereafter.  The lesson here is this: if you are not prepared for the heavenly feast, you will be locked out forever!

It is a sobering reminder of God’s love and justice. We don’t know when the Lord’s return will take place or when we will be ushered from this earth, so as stewards of God’s manifold gifts, we must use all of the time we have – every minute that passes – wisely.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

The theme of this Sunday’s readings is love, and Jesus reminds us that the most important duty of a Christian disciple is to love the Lord with his whole self, and to also love his neighbor as himself.

But love of neighbor is not always an easy task, especially when we recognize that others don’t always treat us with that sense of selfless love and, in fact, can be downright cruel to us at times. Nonetheless, Christ’s law of love stands firm. We are to love. Always.

Jesus offers us the perfect example of selfless love on the cross. He died out of love for us. In order to make reparation for our sins so that we could enjoy life everlasting, the Lord experienced the most excruciating suffering, simply because He wanted us to reap the reward. The stewardship way of life calls us to follow Jesus’ example and act on this selfless love. By doing so, we set an example and call others to follow Christ, just as St. Paul praised the Thessalonians for doing in the second reading.

The Lord has given us the gift of love and, through His own suffering and death, He has shown us how to selflessly share that love by laying down our lives for others. What’s more, He has given us our time, our talent, and our treasure, and it is our duty as Christian stewards to use them in love of God and in love of neighbor.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

People who think they’re only serving themselves can actually be carrying out God’s will despite themselves.  So it was with Cyrus the Great, the Persian emperor.  His military conquests were for his glory, he thought, but the Lord used him to restore the Jews, the Chosen People, to their homes in Palestine.  He allowed their return after he conquered the Babylonians, who had taken the Jews into captivity.  Isaiah even referred to him as God’s anointed, for he was serving God’s purposes.

This reminds us that God is the one who gives authority to governments, as well as to the Church, and that each has its sphere of responsibility for our welfare.  The problem is that governments often seek to expand their powers in ways that are tyrannical rather than beneficial.  That’s why the Church’s witness is needed so that we can return to Caesar what is his, as well as return to God what is God’s.

But it also means that as stewards we are responsible to share our gifts and serve the wider community beyond the parish wall as well as worship and serve within the Church.  Both are needed for a healthy society.  God’s care extends to all aspects of our human life.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

It is commonplace in religious instruction that the first half of the liturgical year focuses on what God has done for us.  During Advent, Christmas, Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, we emphasized Jesus’ Birth, Suffering, Death, and Resurrection, and the Descent of the Holy Spirit.  The second half then focuses us our response to these wonderful demonstrations of God’s love for us.  This scheme is an oversimplification, of course, but it has a kernel of truth.

In particular, the last few weeks of the liturgical year remind us that we are accountable to God for all the gifts he has given us and all he has done for us.  And when the accounting is done, it becomes evident, sadly, that God’s people have not produced as rich a harvest as they ought to have done.

Such is the case with the ancient Israelites, whom Isaiah compared with a vineyard which produced only sour, wild grapes. Jesus used the vineyard image, but introduced tenants who refused to turn over his share of the harvest to the landowner. They will be replaced by people who will obey the terms of the agreement, and others will be welcomed into the kingdom of God. How do we measure up with the harvest of spiritual gifts we should develop and turn over to God?

Lest we lose heart, St. Paul reminds us that we are to “have no anxiety at all.” Indeed, even our requests should be offered to God “with thanksgiving.” We have a fuller revelation of God’s will for us, and a never-ending stream of grace from the sacraments. If we keep our minds on what is true, pure, and excellent, “then the God of peace will be with you.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

One of the freedoms God has given us is the freedom to change our minds.  The two sons in Jesus’ parable exercised that freedom when their father asked them to work in his vineyard one day.  The first son refused, but then changed his mind and went.  The second agreed to work but never showed up.  In the same way, the sinners who responded to the preaching of St. John the Baptist obeyed God when those religious leaders who seemed to be holy refused to actually do so, and so the repentant sinners were the ones who entered the Kingdom of God.

We Christians know we should do the will of God the Father, but we tend to be fickle and not follow through on our intention to obey God’s will.  We need God’s grace to be constant and to help us develop “the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus,” as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians.  As Christ gave up the glory of heaven to die on our behalf, so we have a challenge: “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.”

If we accept that challenge, and change our minds from serving ourselves first, it will inevitably change the way we use the time, the talent, and the treasure entrusted to us.

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CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard is one that startles centuries after Jesus told it.  Those who worked in the vineyard only part of the day, perhaps just one hour, get paid as much as those who labored the whole day long.

The parable, however, is not so much about the workers as it is about the owner of the vineyard.  The owner paid all the workers everything they had agreed upon.  But in his generosity, he paid many of them more than was required.

In the same way, God is more than just; he is merciful.  In his mercy and generosity, he gives all who turn to him eternal life in heaven, both to those who serve him all their lives and those who respond to him a short time before death.

Our response to this merciful and generous God should be one of thankfulness and a commitment to offer him a portion of the time, talent, and treasure he has entrusted to us.

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 CATHOLIC STEWARDSHIP FROM SUNDAYS READINGS

God takes a serious view of sin, but he is eager to forgive sinners.  His attitude is well expressed in the Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich is compassion.”

Our response to God’s mercy must be two-fold.  First, in thankfulness for His kindness, we commit a portion of our time to prayer and worship, particularly by participating in the Eucharist, the Church’s central act of worship and thanksgiving.

Secondly, we hear over and over again that to receive God’s forgiveness for our sins, we must forgive those who hurt us.  We pray it in the Lord’s Prayer, and we read the same lesson in the First Reading from Sirach and in the Gospel in Jesus’ Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.  Let us then forgive others, so that we in turn may receive forgiveness from God.

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