Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 12: 39-48

Jesus said to his disciples: 
“Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly. 
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Saint Augustine once said, “I am terrified by what I am for you, but given comfort by what I am with you. For you, I am a bishop, but with you I am a Christian.”

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As bishop of the local church in Hippo, or what is modern-day Algeria, Augustine was entrusted by God with the responsibility of caring for the spiritual welfare of his flock. 

This included preaching the Gospel, teaching against heresy, administering the Sacraments, visiting the sick, burying the dead, managing finances, and so on.

This was a heavy yoke placed upon his shoulders, and he understood the enormity of the task. As Jesus says plainly in today’s Gospel, “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

In addition to the weight of his flock, Augustine was also a towering intellect, a prolific writer, and the most influential theologian of his age, if not ever. 

“I am terrified by what I am for you,” he says.

Had he misused his gifts – or led his flock into scandal – then the Lord would’ve held him accountable. This is partly why the pope and the local bishop are prayed for by name at each Mass; we ask God to grant them the grace to lead us honestly and courageously.

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Augustine’s consolation was not in his office as bishop, but in his identity as a baptized member of the Body of Christ. “I am given comfort by what I am with you,” he says.

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Fortunately, none of us has been given the enormous task of leading an entire diocese, or helping to shape Catholic theology as profoundly as Augustine did.

But we are all called to lead in various ways – I as pastor of this parish; you as protector of your family; all of us as Christians in this world. This responsibility should spark a holy fear – a type of awe – in our hearts.

We have been entrusted with much.

But with every layer of responsibility comes an equal – or greater – amount of grace. As Saint Paul reminds us, “We can do all things well through Christ who strengthens us.”

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Image credits: (1) Redbubble (2) FCE-Probitas (3) Seasonal Preaching

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Gospel: John 21: 15-17

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and
eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I’m sure many of us remember where we were when we heard Pope John Paul II passed from this world, entering eternal life on April 2, 2005. 

It was my brother’s 21^st birthday.

I was a sophomore at Seton Hall University, just a few months away from becoming a Catholic. I remember being particularly moved by John Paul’s life and example, perhaps most famously for his message: “Do not be afraid.”

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The Lord tells us more than 300 times in the bible to not be afraid. It’s a call John Paul was reminded of throughout his life.

When he experienced the death of his mother at 9 years old, and then his father, and then his brother; when he was left alone without his deepest familial roots, the Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid.”

When the Nazi’s invaded his homeland, closed his university, and forced him to work in a factory, he remembered those words, “Do not be afraid.”

When war broke out and he risked his life entering a clandestine seminary to study for the priesthood, he remembered, “Do not be afraid.”

When he became a professor teaching at the only Catholic university behind the Iron Curtain in Lublin; when he was called to become a bishop for the persecuted flock in Poland; when he was elected pope in 1978, called to feed God’s sheep, echoing the call in today’s Gospel…

And when he breathed his last on April 2, 2005, he must’ve felt those words ring in the deepest chambers of his soul, which stayed with him since his youth:

“Do not be afraid.”

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John Paul’s journey is, in a sense, everyone’s journey. At certain times in life, we all need to remember the words of the Lord: “Do not be afraid. I have overcome the world.”

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May John Paul intercede for us, that God would give us the strength to follow him, not only today, but also into a future yet to be written.

Pope Saint John Paul II, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Redbubble (2) A-Z Quotes (3) Pinterest

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Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The Romans had a popular saying: “Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”

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We see this thirst for money unfolding in today’s Gospel as two brothers are arguing over a family inheritance.

The fact that there is money to inherit implies they already have enough. If their family were poor, then there’d be nothing to argue about!

But what these boys want is more. That thirst inspires Jesus to tell them a parable about a rich man who thought he had everything, but died that night with nothing.

The heart of the matter is not how much money a person possesses; rather, how much a person is possessed by it.

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The opposite of greed is not poverty, but contentment.

Contentment has been defined as, “a state of happiness and satisfaction.” It’s something most human beings can feel – unless, of course, they’re living in a state of danger.

Anyone, even the poor, can learn to be content with what they have. Ironically enough, it’s often the poor who seem more content than the wealthy because they must learn how to be satisfied with less.

“Money is like saltwater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.”

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Am I content with what I have? Or do I find myself wanting more – more money, more power, more attention, more of anything?

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Saint Paul reminds us in his Letter to Timothy: 

“Faith with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we should be content with that.”

Perhaps anything more could make us thirsty.

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Image credits: (1) Freepik (2) Adobe Stock (3) ChildLight Yoga