Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 09-22-13, Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Amos 8:4-7 II: 1 Timothy 2:1-8

Gospel
Luke 16:1-13

1 He also said to the disciples, "There was a rich man who had a steward, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his goods.
² And he called him and said to him, 'What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.'
³ And the steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.
⁴ I have decided what to do, so that people may receive me into their houses when I am put out of the stewardship.'
⁵ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?'
⁶ He said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.'
⁷ Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' He said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.'
⁸ The master commended the dishonest steward for his shrewdness; for the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.
⁹ And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations.
¹⁰ "He who is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and he who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much.
¹¹ If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you the true riches?
¹² And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own?
¹³ No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Interesting Details

Context: The whole of chapter 16 is about the need to share our possessions with the needy.
(v.1) "Rich man" was apparently an absentee landlord, typically not likable.
(v.2) "summoned the manager": some day each of us will also be summoned before the Lord to account for what we have been given.
(v.3) "What shall I do" is a way Luke uses to describe a crisis. The wicked manager was able to orchestrate an active response to the crisis.
(v.4) "People will receive me": the wicked manager was able to recognize the value of people's favor.
(v.5) "How much do you owe?" The amount probably includes a very high interest already, is what people must promise to pay back, much more than what they originally borrowed.
(v.6) "One hundred containers": each container was about 5 to 11 gallons.
(v.7) "Write eighty": the manager commonly does this, namely estimating what people needs to pay back plus the profit to his boss. Now he adds in a new component: what will be helpful to him later when he no longer has the control of any money.
(v.9) "When [money] fails" or when it runs out, what is left is the effect of how the money was used.
(v.13) "You cannot serve both God and Mammon." If money is the ultimate goal, then it is a Mammon. It needs to be subordinate to God and to loving, serving others.

One Main Point

Use our possessions wisely (serving the poor) so that when it runs out and when we are summoned to God in the final day, we will be received into God's house.

Reflections

What are in my possessions? How do I manage them? When God summons me, what can I say?
When my possessions run out, what is left? Will the Lord receive me?

Sunday, September 22, 2013
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading:
Psalm:
Second Reading:
Gospel:

Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113:1-2, 4-8
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it; and to thee I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.

-- Matthew xvi. 18-19

Just A Minute (Listen)
Some of EWTN's most popular hosts and guests in a collection of one minute inspirational messages. A different message each time you click.

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

Information: St. Thomas of Villanova

Feast Day: September 22

Born: 1488, Spain

Died: 1555, in Valencia, Spain

Canonized: November 1, 1658 by Pope Alexander VII

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Thomas of Villanova

Feast Day: September 22
Born: 1488 :: Died: 1555

Thomas was born at Fuentellana, Castile in Spain. From his kind parents, he learned to be very charitable with the poor. He did well in school and became a teacher of philosophy when he finished his studies.

Then he joined the Augustinian order as a priest. After he became a priest, he was given many important responsibilities. Later, he was made archbishop of the city of Valencia.

His priests tried to convince him to change his old, mended habit (long robe that priests wear) for new and nicer robes. However, St. Thomas told them his old clothes had nothing to do with his duty. He would take good care of the spiritual needs of his people.

Every day he fed hundreds of poor people. When he received a large sum of money to buy furniture for his house, he gave it to a hospital, saying, "What does a poor monk like me want with furniture?" No wonder he was called the "father of the poor"!

St. Thomas was very gentle with sinners at a time when most people were not. He encouraged rich people to be generous and follow his example too.

Once when he tried to encourage one man to change his sinful ways, the man angrily insulted him and stormed out of the room.

"It was my fault," said the humble archbishop. "I told him a little too roughly." Never would he permit anyone to criticize someone who wasn't there. "He may have had a good reason for doing what he did," the saint would say. "I, for one, believe he did."

Before he died, St. Thomas of Villanova gave to the poor everything he had. He made sure that even his bed was sent to the jail for prisoners to use. St. Thomas died in 1555.

Luke
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Luke 16
1.	AND he said also to his disciples: There was a certain rich man who had a steward: and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods.	Dicebat autem et ad discipulos suos : Homo quidam erat dives, qui habebat villicum : et hic diffamatus est apud illum quasi dissipasset bona ipsius.	ελεγεν δε και προς τους μαθητας αυτου ανθρωπος τις ην πλουσιος ος ειχεν οικονομον και ουτος διεβληθη αυτω ως διασκορπιζων τα υπαρχοντα αυτου
2.	And he called him, and said to him: How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship: for now thou canst be steward no longer.	Et vocavit illum, et ait illi : Quid hoc audio de te ? redde rationem villicationis tuæ : jam enim non poteris villicare.	και φωνησας αυτον ειπεν αυτω τι τουτο ακουω περι σου αποδος τον λογον της οικονομιας σου ου γαρ δυνηση ετι οικονομειν
3.	And the steward said within himself: What shall I do, because my lord taketh away from me the stewardship? To dig I am not able; to beg I am ashamed.	Ait autem villicus intra se : Quid faciam ? quia dominus meus aufert a me villicationem. Fodere non valeo, mendicare erubesco.	ειπεν δε εν εαυτω ο οικονομος τι ποιησω οτι ο κυριος μου αφαιρειται την οικονομιαν απ εμου σκαπτειν ουκ ισχυω επαιτειν αισχυνομαι
4.	I know what I will do, that when I shall be removed from the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.	Scio quid faciam, ut, cum amotus fuero a villicatione, recipiant me in domos suas.	εγνων τι ποιησω ινα οταν μετασταθω της οικονομιας δεξωνται με εις τους οικους αυτων
5.	Therefore calling together every one of his lord's debtors, he said to the first: How much dost thou owe my lord?	Convocatis itaque singulis debitoribus domini sui, dicebat primo : Quantum debes domino meo ?	και προσκαλεσαμενος ενα εκαστον των χρεωφειλετων του κυριου εαυτου ελεγεν τω πρωτω ποσον οφειλεις τω κυριω μου
6.	But he said: An hundred barrels of oil. And he said to him: Take thy bill and sit down quickly, and write fifty.	At ille dixit : Centum cados olei. Dixitque illi : Accipe cautionem tuam : et sede cito, scribe quinquaginta.	ο δε ειπεν εκατον βατους ελαιου και ειπεν αυτω δεξαι σου το γραμμα και καθισας ταχεως γραψον πεντηκοντα
7.	Then he said to another: And how much dost thou owe? Who said: An hundred quarters of wheat. He said to him: Take thy bill, and write eighty.	Deinde alii dixit : Tu vero quantum debes ? Qui ait : Centum coros tritici. Ait illi : Accipe litteras tuas, et scribe octoginta.	επειτα ετερω ειπεν συ δε ποσον οφειλεις ο δε ειπεν εκατον κορους σιτου και λεγει αυτω δεξαι σου το γραμμα και γραψον ογδοηκοντα
8.	And the lord commended the unjust steward, forasmuch as he had done wisely: for the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.	Et laudavit dominus villicum iniquitatis, quia prudenter fecisset : quia filii hujus sæculi prudentiores filiis lucis in generatione sua sunt.	και επηνεσεν ο κυριος τον οικονομον της αδικιας οτι φρονιμως εποιησεν οτι οι υιοι του αιωνος τουτου φρονιμωτεροι υπερ τους υιους του φωτος εις την γενεαν την εαυτων εισιν
9.	And I say to you: Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity; that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings.	Et ego vobis dico : facite vobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis : ut, cum defeceritis, recipiant vos in æterna tabernacula.	καγω υμιν λεγω ποιησατε εαυτοις φιλους εκ του μαμωνα της αδικιας ινα οταν εκλιπητε δεξωνται υμας εις τας αιωνιους σκηνας
10.	He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in that which is greater: and he that is unjust in that which is little, is unjust also in that which is greater.	Qui fidelis est in minimo, et in majori fidelis est : et qui in modico iniquus est, et in majori iniquus est.	ο πιστος εν ελαχιστω και εν πολλω πιστος εστιν και ο εν ελαχιστω αδικος και εν πολλω αδικος εστιν
11.	If then you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon; who will trust you with that which is the true?	Si ergo in iniquo mammona fideles non fuistis quod verum est, quis credet vobis ?	ει ουν εν τω αδικω μαμωνα πιστοι ουκ εγενεσθε το αληθινον τις υμιν πιστευσει
12.	And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's; who will give you that which is your own?	Et si in alieno fideles non fuistis, quod vestrum est, quis dabit vobis ?	και ει εν τω αλλοτριω πιστοι ουκ εγενεσθε το υμετερον τις υμιν δωσει
13.	No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.	Nemo servus potest duobus dominis servire : aut enim unum odiet, et alterum diliget : aut uni adhærebit, et alterum contemnet. Non potestis Deo servire et mammonæ.	ουδεις οικετης δυναται δυσιν κυριοις δουλευειν η γαρ τον ενα μισησει και τον ετερον αγαπησει η ενος ανθεξεται και του ετερου καταφρονησει ου δυνασθε θεω δουλευειν και μαμωνα

1. And he said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused to him that he had wasted his goods.
2. And he called him, and said to him, How is it that I hear this of you? give an account of your stewardship; for you may be no longer steward.
3. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord takes away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.
4. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
5. So he called every one of his lord's debtors to him, and said to the first, How much owe you to my lord?
6. And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.
7. Then said he to another, And how much owe you? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him, Take your bill, and write fourscore.

BEDE; Having rebuked in three parables those who murmured because He received penitents, our Savior shortly after subjoins a fourth and a fifth on almsgiving and frugality, because it is also the fittest order in preaching that almsgiving should be added after repentance. Hence it follows, And he said to his disciples, There was a certain rich man.

PSEUDO. There is a certain erroneous opinion inherent in mankind, which increases evil and lessens good. It is the feeling that all the good things we possess in the course of our life we possess as lords over them, and accordingly we seize them as our especial goods. But it is quite the contrary. For we are placed in this life not as lords in our own house, but as guests and strangers, led whither we would not, and at a time we think not of. He who is now rich, suddenly becomes a beggar. Therefore whoever you are, know yourself to be a dispenser of the things of others, and that the privileges granted you are for a brief and passing use. Cast away then from your soul the pride of power, and put on the humility and modesty of a steward.

BEDE; The bailiff is the manager of the farm, therefore he takes his name from the farm. But the steward, or director of the household, is the overseer of money as well as fruits, and of every thing his master possesses.

AMBROSE; From this we learn then, that we are not ourselves the masters, but rather the stewards of the property of others.

THEOPHYL. Next, that when we exercise not the management of our wealth according to our Lord's pleasure, but abuse our trust to our own pleasures, we are guilty stewards. Hence it follows, And he was accused to him.

PSEUDO-CHRYS. Meanwhile he is taken and thrust out of his stewardship; for it follows, And he called him, and said to him, What is this that I hear of you? give an account of your stewardship, for you can be no longer steward. Day after day by the events which take place our Lord cries aloud to us the same thing, showing us a man at midday rejoicing in health, before the evening cold and lifeless; another expiring in the midst of a meal. And in various ways we go out from our stewardship; but the faithful steward, who has confidence concerning his management, desires with Paul to depart and be with Christ. But he whose wishes are on earth is troubled at his departing.

Hence it is added of this steward, Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do, for my Lord takes away from me the stewardship? I cannot dig, to beg I all ashamed. Weakness in action is the fault of a slothful life. For no one would shrink who had been accustomed to apply himself to labor. But if we take the parable allegorically, after our departure hence there is no more time for working; the present life contains the practice of what is commanded, the future, consolation. If you have done nothing here, in vain then are you careful for the future, nor will you gain any thing by begging. The foolish virgins are an instance of this, who unwisely begged of the wise, but returned empty. For every one puts on his daily life as his inner garment; it is not possible for him to put it off or exchange it with another.

But the wicked steward aptly contrived the remission of debts, to provide for himself an escape from his misfortunes among his fellow-servants; for it follows, I am resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. For as often as a man perceiving his end approaching, lightens by a kind deed the load of his sins, (either by forgiving a debtor his debts, or by giving abundance to the poor,) dispensing those things which are his Lord's, he conciliates to himself many friends, who will afford him before the judge a real testimony, not by words, but by the demonstration of good works, nay moreover will provide for him by their testimony a resting-place of consolation. But nothing is our own, all things are in the power of God.

Hence it follows, So he called every one of his Lord's debtors to him, and said to the first, How much owe you to my Lord? And he said, A hundred casks of oil.

BEDE, A cadus in Greek is a vessel containing three urns. It follows, And he said to him, Take your bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty, forgiving him the half.

It follows, Then said he to another, And how much owe you? And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. A corus is made up of thirty bushels. And he said to him, Take your bill, and write fourscore, forgiving him a fifth part. It may be then simply taken as follows: whosoever relieves the want of a poor man, either by supplying half or a fifth part, will be blessed with the reward of his mercy.

AUG. Or because out of the hundred measures of oil, he caused fifty to be written down by the debtors, and of the hundred measures of w heat, fourscore, the meaning thereof is this, that those things which every Jew performs toward the Priests and Levites should be the more attendant in the Church of Christ, that whereas they give a tenth, Christians should give a half, as Zaccheus gave of his goods, or at least by giving two tenths, that is, a fifth, exceed the payments of the Jews.

8. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

AUG. The steward whom his Lord cast out of his stewardship is nevertheless commended because he provided himself against the future. As it follows, And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely; we ought not however to take the whole for our imitation. For we should never act deceitfully against our Lord in order that from the fraud itself we may give alms.

ORIGEN; But because the Gentiles say that wisdom is a virtue, and define it to be the experience of w hat is good, evil, and indifferent, or the knowledge of what is and what is not to be done, we must consider whether this word signifies many things, or one. For it is said that God by wisdom prepared the heavens. Now it is plain that wisdom is good, because the Lord by wisdom prepared the heavens. It is said also in Genesis, according to the LXX, that the serpent was the wisest animal, wherein he does not make wisdom a virtue, but evil-minded cunning. And it is in this sense that the Lord commended the steward that he had done wisely, that is, cunningly and evilly. And perhaps the word commended was spoken not in the sense of real commendation, but in a lower sense; as when we speak of a man being commended in slight and indifferent matters, and in a certain measure clashings and sharpness of wit are admired, by which the power of the mind is drawn out.

AUG. On the other hand this parable is spoken that we should understand that if the steward who acted deceitfully, could be praised by his lord, how much more they please God who do their works according to His commandment.

ORIGEN; The children of this world also are not called wiser but more prudent than the children of light, and this not absolutely and simply, but in their generation. For it follows, For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light, &c.

BEDE; The children of light and the children of this world are spoken of in the same manner as the children of the kingdom, and the children of hell. For whatever works a man does, he is also termed their sun.

THEOPHYL. By the children of this world then He means those who mind the good things which are on the earth; by the children of light, those who beholding the divine love, employ themselves with spiritual treasures. But it is found indeed in the management of human affairs, that we prudently order our own things, and busily set ourselves to work, in order that when we depart we may have a refuge for our life; but when we ought to direct the things of God, we take no forethought for what shall be our lot hereafter.

9. And I say to you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.
10. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
11. If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
12. And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?
13. No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

GREG. In order then that after death they may find something in their own hand, let men before death place their riches in the hands of the poor. Hence it follows, And I say to you, d/lake to yourselves friends of the man of unrighteousness, &c.

AUG. That which the Hebrews call mammon, in Latin is "riches." As if He said, "Make to yourselves friends of the riches of unrighteousness." Now some misunderstanding this, seize upon the things of others, and so give something to the poor, and think that they are doing what is commanded. That interpretation must be corrected into, Give alms of your righteous labors. For you will not corrupt Christ your Judge. If from the plunder of a poor man, you were to give any thing to the judge that he might decide for you, and that judge should decide for you, such is the force of justice, that you would be ill pleased in yourself. Do not then make to yourself such a God. God is the fountain of Justice, give not your alms then from interest and usury. I speak to the faithful, to whom we dispense the body of Christ. But if you have such money, it is of evil that you have it. Be no longer doers of evil. Zaccheus said, Half my goods I give to the poor. See how he runs who runs to make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; and not to be held guilty from any quarter, he says, If have taken any thing from any one, I restore fourfold. According to another interpretation, the mammon of unrighteousness are all the riches of the world, whenever they come. For if you seek the true riches, there are some in which Job when naked abounded, when he had his hears full towards God. The others are called riches from unrighteousness; because they are not true riches, for they are full of poverty, and ever liable to chances. For if they were true riches, they would give you security.

AUG. Or the riches of unrighteousness are so called, because they are not riches except to the unrighteous, and such as rest in their hopes and the fullness of their happiness. But when these things are possessed by the righteous, they have indeed so much money, but no riches are theirs but heavenly and spiritual.

AMBROSE. Or he spoke of the unrighteous Mammon, because by the various enticements of riches covetousness corrupts our hearts, that we may be willing to obey riches.

BASIL; Or if you have succeeded to a patrimony, you receive what has been amassed by the unrighteous; for in a number of predecessors some one must needs be found who has unjustly usurped the property of others. But suppose that your father has not been guilty of exaction, whence have you your money? If indeed you answer, "From myself;" you are ignorant of God, not having the knowledge of your Creator; but if, "From God," tell me the reason for which you receive it. Is not the earth and the fullness thereof the Lord's? If then whatever is ours belongs to our common Lord, so will it also belong to our fellow-servant.

THEOPHYL. Those then are called the riches of unrighteousness which the Lord has given for the necessities of our brethren and fellow-servants, but we spend upon ourselves. It became us then, from the beginning, to give all things to the poor, but because we have become the stewards of unrighteousness, wickedly retaining what was appointed for the aid of others, we must not surely remain in this cruelty, but distribute to the poor, that we may be received by them into everlasting habitations. For it follows, That, when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

GREG. But if through their friendship we obtain everlasting habitations, we ought to calculate that when we give we rather offer presents to patrons, than bestow benefits upon he needy.

AUG. For who are they that shall have everlasting habitations but the saints of God? and who are they that are to be received by them into everlasting habitations but they who administer to their want, and whatsoever they have need of, gladly supply. They are those little ones of Christ, who have forsaken all that belonged to them and followed Him; and whatsoever they had have given to the poor, that they might serve God without earthly shackles, and freeing their shoulders from the burdens of the world, might raise them aloft as with wings.

AUG. We must not then understand those by whom we wish to be received into everlasting habitations to be as it were debtors of God; seeing that the just and holy are signified in this place, who cause those to enter in, who administered to their necessity of their own worldly goods.

AMBROSE; Or else, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that by giving to the poor we may purchase the favor of angels and all the saints.

CHRYS. Mark also that He said not, "that they may receive you into their own habitations." For it is not they who receive you. Therefore when He said, Make to yourselves friends, he added, of the mammon of unrighteousness, to show, that their friendship will not alone protect us unless good works accompany us, unless we righteously cast away all riches unrighteously amassed. The most skillful then of all arts is that of almsgiving. For it builds not for us houses of mud, but lays up in store an everlasting life. Now in each of the arts one needs the support of another; but when we ought to show mercy, we need nothing else but the will alone.

CYRIL; Thus then Christ taught those who abound in riches, earnestly to love the friendship of the poor, and to have treasure in heaven. But He knew the sloth of the human mind, how that they who court riches bestow no work of charity upon the needy. That to such men there results no profit of spiritual gifts, He shows by obvious examples, adding, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Now our Lord opens to us the eye of the heart, explaining what He had said, adding, If therefore you have not been faithful in the unrighteousness mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? That which is least then is the mammon of unrighteousness, that is, earthly riches, which seem nothing to those that are heavenly wise. I think then that a man is faithful in a little, when he imparts aid to those who are bowed down with sorrow. If then we have been unfaithful in a little thing, how shall we obtain from hence the true riches, that is, the fruitful gift of Divine grace, impressing the image of God on the human soul?

But that our Lord's words incline to this meaning is plain from the following; for He says, And if you have not been faithful in that which is another man's who shall give you that which is your own?

AMBROSE; Riches are foreign to us, because they are something beyond nature, they are not born with us, and they do not pass away with us. But Christ is ours, because He is the life of man. Lastly, He came to His own.

THEOPHYL. Thus then hitherto He has taught us how faithfully we ought to dispose of our wealth. But because the management of our wealth according to God is no otherwise obtained than by the indifference of a mind unaffected towards riches, He adds, No man can serve two masters.

AMBROSE; Not because the Lord is two, but one. For although there are who serve mammon, yet he knows no rights of lordship; but has himself placed upon himself a yoke of servitude. There is one Lord, because there is one God. Hence it is evident, that the power of the Father and the Son is one and He assigns a reason, thus saying, For either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

AUG. But these things were not spoken indifferently or at random. For no one when asked whether he loves the devil, answers that he loves him, but rather that he hates him; but all generally proclaim that they love God. Therefore either he will hate the one, (that is, the devil,) and love the other, (that is, God;) or will hold to the one, (that is, the devil, when he pursues as it were temporal wants,) and will despise the other, (that is, God,) as when men frequently neglect His threats for their desires, who because of His goodness flatter themselves that they will have impunity.

CYRIL; But the conclusion of the whole discourse is what follows, You cannot serve God and man. Let us then transfer all our devotions to the one, forsaking riches.

BEDE; Let then the covetous hear this, that we can not at the same time serve Christ and riches; and yet He said not, "Who has riches," but, who serves riches; for he who is the servant of riches, watches them as a servant; but he who has shaken off the yoke of servitude, dispenses them as a master; but he who serves mammon, verily serves him who is set over those earthly things as the reward of his iniquity, and is called the prince of this world.

14. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15. And he said to them, you are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

BEDE; Christ had told the Pharisees not to boast of their own righteousness, but to receive penitent sinners, and to redeem their sins by almsgiving. But they derided the Preacher of mercy, humility, and frugality; as it is said, And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard these things; and derided him: it may be for two reasons, either because He commanded what was not sufficiently profitable, or cast blame upon their past superfluous actions.

THEOPHYL. But the Lord detecting in them a hidden malice, proves that they make a presence of righteousness. Therefore it is added, And he said to them, you are they which justify yourselves before men.

BEDE; They justify themselves before men who despise sinners as in a weak and hopeless condition, but fancy themselves to be perfect and not to need the remedy of almsgiving; but how justly the depth of deadly pride is to be condemned, He sees who will enlighten the hidden places of darkness. Hence it follows, But God knows your hearts.

THEOPHYL. And therefore you are an abomination to Him because of your arrogance, and love of seeking after the praise of men; as He adds, For that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Catena Aurea Luke 16

Christ the Savior

Viktor Krivorotov, iconographer

Catholic Almanac

Sunday, September 22

Liturgical Color: Green

Today the Church honors the 233
Martyrs of Valencia. They were priests,
religious and laity killed for their faith
during the Spanish Civil War (1936-
1939). Thousands of Catholics were
killed and many convents and churches
burned.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: September 22, 2013
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law upon love of you and of our neighbor, grant that, by keeping your precepts, we may merit to attain eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o Saucy Summer's End Cookout

ACTIVITIES

o On how our Work is Love, and how we can work with Christ to save Souls with our Love

PRAYERS

o Blessing of Children

o Parents' Prayer for Children

o Children's Prayer for Parents

LIBRARY

o Becoming Like Little Children | Caryll Houselander

o Children Are Supreme Gift of Married Life | Pope John Paul II

o Marriage - Family - Children | Pope Paul VI

o You Revealed These Things to Children | Pope John Paul II

Ordinary Time: September 22nd

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

"For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."

Click here for commentary on the readings in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Prophet Amos 8:4-7. Amos was a shepherd in the kingdom of Judah who was called by God to go to Israel, the northern kingdom. There he was to speak in God's name to the people. This was in the 8th century B.C. The country enjoyed material prosperity but idolatry and injustice were rife among the upper classes especially. Against these vices the prophet spoke fearlessly, until he was driven from the kingdom eventually. Today's reading deals with the injustices practiced against the poor and the helpless.

The second reading is from St. Paul's first letter to Timothy 2:1-8. What St. Paul is telling Timothy, the bishop of Ephesus, to teach his congregation is the necessity and the obligation of prayer.

The Gospel is from St. Luke 16:1-13. These words of Christ warning those who would follow him on the road to heaven not to become the slaves of earthly things are applicable to all of us. Most of us may feel that this warning is for millionaires and business magnates. Our Lord didn't say so. There was not a single millionaire in his audience. He meant it for all of us, for what he warned against was not the just acquisition of this world's goods but their unjust acquisition, and the dishonest use of them when they were justly acquired.

It was God who created all that exists in this world. He intended these goods for the use of man. We are only managers, therefore, of these worldly goods. It is on our way of managing these goods, not on the quantity we had to manage, that our judgment will be based. Millionaires can get to heaven while all paupers have no guarantee that they will make it. Our Lord deduces two lessons for us from the parable of the unjust manager or steward. Firstly, the enterprise which he showed in providing for his earthly happiness when he would lose his employment, was greater and keener than that shown by most of us in providing for our eternal happiness.

Did I give one hour a day to God and the things of God, helping the needy, learning more about my religion, giving a hand in parochial affairs, advising those in difficulties, spiritual or temporal, praying for my own and my neighbor's needs—yet even if I did, it is less than one-tenth of the free time I had at my own disposal.

If I did not, if I barely managed to to get in the Sunday Mass and a few hasty prayers, could anyone suggest that I was showing great interest and was very enterprising as far as my future life was concerned? God is very generous with me. He gives me lots of time for providing for my health and temporal needs each week, and a lot of free time besides. I should not express surprise if he is disappointed at how little of that wonderful gift of time I am willing to give back to him. The unjust steward was far more enterprising as regards earthly provision for himself.

The second lesson our Lord wishes to teach us is that we should use what we can spare of our earthly possessions in helping those who are in need of our help. By doing that, we will be making friends who will help us at the judgment seat to get a lasting reception in heaven. Remember that description of the judgment which our Lord gave when he said, "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me"? What we do for the needy, we do for Him. Those whom we help, as far as we can, will be witnesses testifying for us when our final examination, on which our eternity will depend, comes upon us.

Two resolutions worthy of your serious consideration today in relation to earthly goods are: Never let them take up all your time. You have a far more serious purpose in life. Give it a little more thought and enterprise than you have been doing. Secondly, be grateful to God for what He has given you in this life. You might like to have a lot more, but God knows best. Work honestly and be generous with what you have. You are serving God, not money. God will be waiting for you where there is no currency, and where the one bank account that matters will be the good use that you made of your time and your share of this world's goods while you were alive.

— Excerpted from The Sunday Readings Cycle C, Fr. Kevin O' Sullivan, O.F.M.

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 16:1-13

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

The master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. (Luke 16:8)

That’s right. The “hero” in this parable is a dishonest man who cheated his way out of a tough situation. Many commentators think the steward had been overcharging his master’s debtors so that he could take the extra money for himself. So by reducing their debts to reflect the amount they actually owed, the steward not only got rid of the evidence of his wrongdoing, he also won over the debtors. With a reputation for generosity and fair play, he could have had any job he wanted!

The prudence that Jesus highlighted in this parable is a matter of skillfully using available resources to accomplish a desired goal. This is the kind of shrewdness that Jesus wants us to take up as well. He’s not asking us to do anything dishonest, of course. But he is asking us to be careful, clever, even calculating as we live in this darkened world.

So what are some ways we can be shrewd? How about when dealing with our own sin? We are all capable of justifying ourselves, overlooking sin or explaining it away when we want to. What’s more, the devil likes to capitalize on that tendency, trying to trick us into sin. So be shrewd! Don’t fall into the trap of easy explanations or feeble excuses.

Or how about when you want to help someone come to know the Lord? You know that simply talking about the Apostles’ Creed won’t likely win people over. You have to find the right approach, the right words, and the right opportunities to share your faith. And that takes some strategizing as well as careful thought and prayer. It takes learning how to be “all things to all” people (1 Corinthians 9:22).

Being shrewd and prudent is the best way to build the kingdom. So may we all learn from today’s “dishonest steward”—without becoming dishonest ourselves!

“Jesus, help me to find creative ways to grow closer to you and to share your love. Lord, make me a shrewd evangelist!”

Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113:1-2, 4-8; 1 Timothy 2:1-8

Questions for Reflection or Group Discussion

1. The first reading contains a strong warning to us to be fair and not to “trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land” (Amos 8:4). In what ways do we “trample” and “destroy” the poor, when we simply ignore their plight, rather than generously giving of our time, talent, and treasure.

2. In the responsorial psalm, we hear again how our God “raises up the lowly” and “lifts up the poor.” In light of these readings, what additional action(s) do you feel the Lord may be calling you to in order to better serve those less fortunate?

3. In the second reading, St. Paul strongly encourages prayers for all in authority. He goes on to say that they are “good and pleasing to God.” Is your partisanship so full of “anger or argument” that you might be unable to heed his admonition? Are you willing to pray on a regular basis for the president and all your elected officials, whether you agree with them or not? If not, why not?

4. In the Gospel, Jesus tells of the steward who was asked for a “full account” of his stewardship. How would you respond if Christ were to ask you to account for what he has given you? Are you willing to take some additional steps to improve the stewardship of your time, talents, and treasures? Why or why not?

5. Jesus also warns those who are not trustworthy “in very small matters.” Can you identify any situations in business, or in your relationships, where you might excuse yourself by saying, “it’s so small it really doesn’t matter?”

6. In describing the message of the parable in the Gospel, the meditation states that: “The prudence that Jesus highlighted in this parable is a matter of skillfully using available resources to accomplish a desired goal. This is the kind of shrewdness that Jesus wants us to take up as well. He’s not asking us to do anything dishonest, of course. But he is asking us to be careful, clever, even calculating as we live in this darkened world.” The meditation goes on to describe various ways to be “shrewd and prudent” in order to “build the kingdom.” How would you describe the ways the Lord wants you to be “shrewd and prudent”?

7. Take some time now to pray and ask the Lord for the grace to use the many gifts he has given you in order to draw closer to him, share his love with others, and build his kingdom. Use the prayer at the end of the meditation as a starting point.

A Christian Pilgrim

SURELY I WILL NEVER FORGET ANY OF THEIR DEEDS

(Biblical reflection on the 25th Ordinary Sunday, [Year C] – September 22, 2013

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7

Psalms: Psalm 113:1-2,4-8; Second Reading: 1Timothy 2:1-8; Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-13

Scripture Text:

Hear this, you who tramples upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great, and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.” (Amos 8:4-7 RSV)

More than 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Amos was on the biblical scene, preaching the need for integrity. He was a farmer from southern Israel, who travelled to the rich northern part of the country, by divine inspiration. His mission was to condemn the selfishness of the rich who refused to help their struggling brothers and sisters. Amos had a three word formula for making money: “Make it honestly”.

He was infuriated with those people who cheated in their business dealings, and he predicted that God would take revenge on them. In today’s reading we hear his anger blazing out against the cheats, the swindlers and all dishonest and selfish people.

Some are so greedy, Amos says, that they refuse to worship or rest on the Sabbath, lest they lose business. They are even impatient with nature, complaining that it taken too long for the wheat to ripen, before they can sell it.

Amos condemned the vendors who cheated their customers by using small measures (ephah) when selling grain by the bushel, and heavy scale weights (shekel) when buying by the pound. He also denounced those who offer bribes, pay-offs and kick-backs, and who entice the poor to do their “dirty work” by offering them a few silver pieces or a pair of shoes. Amos is an old-time preacher whose message needs to be heard in today’s world. Hear him shouting to the contemporary charlatans, “God will not forget what you have done.”

Generally speaking, is our society any better than the one Amos knew, 2700 years ago? Since we constitute our society, how would we answer the following questions? Am I an honest person? Have I ever “deliberately” cheated anyone? Am I 100% trustworthy with other people’s money and possessions? Do I consider it sinful to take advantage of others, even though it’s easy to do? If you don’t rate well, you might be helped by reading the Book of Amos. It’s only nine chapters.

Unfortunately, we live in an atmosphere of deception, which makes suspicious of others’ motives and fearful of being cheated. We face everything from deliberate frauds and vicious lies to psychological manipulations – like the price $19.99 to make us think it’s much cheaper than $20.00.

Honesty is not only the best policy but the only one. The integrity we use in dealing with our neighbour determines whether or not we are honest with God. Don’t we feel some obligation to be as good as our word and help people to continue to trust others? Jesus, like Amos, clearly taught that it is maliciously sinful to deceive or victimize the poor, the uninformed, the old, the young, or anyone.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we believe that as disciples of Christ, it is not our role to be prophets of doom. But not until we pass through the period of grief and anger so sensitively portrayed for us in the oracles of Amos of Tekoa, we will be able to arrive at the strong position of proclaimers of hope. Thank you, Lord God, for appointing Amos as your prophet to the broken world.

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for September 22, 2013:

What’s your shopping personality: In and out as quickly as possible; shopping as recreation; never met a bargain I didn’t like; research project? How do you reconcile your differences?

“So That When It Fails You…”

Pastor’s Column

25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 22, 2013

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails,
you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

Luke 16:1-13

The gospel that we hear this weekend is found only in Luke. Jesus makes the interesting point that how we use our wealth – our money, time, and opportunities – is a very good indicator of our spiritual life and where our heart truly lies. Jesus calls wealth “dishonest” but what does he mean?

What we possess – whether it is our health, our money, or our time – gives the illusion that it is permanent or that it leads to lasting happiness when in fact everything on earth is a temporary condition. Jesus points out that what we have is now on loan to us, and that the object of life is to trade with our possessions so as to gain eternal possessions and win friends for ourselves and eternal life. Wealth on earth does not last.

Jesus points out that “worldly people” – people who are shrewd and know how to make money--are often better at what they do than the children of God are at earning true wealth in heaven. What opportunities have I squandered that God has given me? This gospel advises us to think about this and use our opportunities to win friends in heaven and on earth.

It is like a person taking a long ocean voyage in which he has many credits that are good for services and entertainment onboard the ship. Only a fool would amass more and more credits that are only valuable as long as one is on board! A wise person would want to take the excess credits and trade them for something valuable after disembarking from the ship. Many people accumulate pleasures and experiences and possessions as if this were the only world there is, without any reference to the world to come.

When I do an act of kindness for someone else, when I pray for the dead, when I give to the poor or help the food bank, tithe to my church, do some works of mercy, or pray and make sacrifices for others – all of these things and many others win us friends on earth and intercessors in heaven. All of us are really stewards of someone else’s possessions. When you think about it, everything that we have will one day pass on to someone else or disappear; so a wise person will be using this brief period of time that we call life on earth to become more and more a friend of God. Every person that I have assisted in life one way or another will be a friend for all eternity, while every selfish act is sterile and, in fact, deprives us of eternal joy.

Worldly people who do not listen to this gospel, or who think that this is the only life there is, will not be prepared when their money fails them because they don’t want to see it. Christ wants us to have true wealth and to use the time we have on earth to gain the value that really lasts.

Father Gary

St. Paul Center Blog

Prudent Stewards: Scott Hahn Reflects on the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted by Dr. Scott Hahn on 09.20.13 |

Amos 8:4-7
Psalm 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8
1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

The steward in today’s Gospel confronts the reality that he can’t go on living the way he has been. He is under judgment, must give account for what he has done.

The exploiters of the poor in today’s First Reading are also about to be pulled down, thrust from their stations (see Isaiah 22:19). Servants of mammon or money, they’re so in love with wealth that they reduce the poor to objects, despise the new moons and sabbaths - the observances and holy days of God (see Leviticus 23:24; Exodus 20:8).

Their only hope is to follow the steward’s path. He is no model of repentance. But he makes a prudent calculation - to use his last hours in charge of his master’s property to show mercy to others, to relieve their debts.

He is a child of this world, driven by a purely selfish motive - to make friends and be welcomed into the homes of his master’s debtors. Yet his prudence is commended as an example to us, the children of light (see 1 Thessalonians 5:5; Ephesians 5:8). We too must realize, as the steward does, that what we have is not honestly ours, but what in truth belongs to another, our Master.

All the mammon in the world could not have paid the debt we owe our Master. So He paid it for us, gave His life as a ransom for all, as we hear in today’s Epistle.

God wants everyone to be saved, even kings and princes, even the lovers of money (see Luke 16:14). But we cannot serve two Masters. By his grace, we should choose to be, as we sing in today’s Psalm - “servants of the Lord.”

We serve Him by using what He has entrusted us with to give alms, to lift the lowly from the dust and dunghills of this world. By this we will gain what is ours, be welcomed into eternal dwellings, the many mansions of the Father’s house (see John 14:2).

Sunday Scripture Study

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

September 22, 2013

Click here for USCCB readings

Opening Prayer

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7

Psalm: 113:1-2,4-8

Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:2:1-8

Gospel Reading: Luke 16:1-13

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus continues teaching by the use of parables. He is speaking to his disciples, but the Pharisees are close at hand listening in (verse 14).

The steward in the parable was probably a servant who served as an agent of goods for his employer. In the process, he extracted usurious amounts on top of the actual transaction amounts. He finds himself about to be out of a job when his master discovers he is wasting his goods (verse 1. See also Luke 15:13).

Desperate to provide for his future, the steward foregoes his share of the profits, hoping to ingratiate himself to his master’s debtors. He thus averts a material crisis using material goods.

Jesus wishes to show us that we can avert a spiritual crisis both here and the life to come, by also using both the material goods of this world (in almsgiving and supporting the spread of the Gospel) as well as the spiritual goods of prayer, love and repentance.

QUESTIONS:

In the First Reading, what is the approach to material goods that is being condemned by God through the prophet Amos?

In the Second Reading, why does St. Paul direct Timothy to promote prayer for everyone—especially “for kings and all in authority” (verse 2)? What part of God’s plan will this help accomplish (verse 3-4)?

In Jesus’ parable, in what crisis does the steward find himself? What plan does he devise? In light of this scheme, why does the owner commend the steward (verse 18)?

How does Jesus summarize this parable (verse 9)? What do you think he’s commending here? How do verses 10-12 help you understand his point?

Why would it be important for Jesus’ disciples to hear this parable?

What’s the problem with trying to serve two masters (verses 13)? What characterizes the attitude of the Pharisees (verse 14)? How does this parable speak to them?

How do you view your money: (a) “It’s mine, keep your hands off”? (b) “It’s my creditors”? (c) “It’s God’s—I just manage it”? Why? How could you use it for the sake of God’s kingdom?

Who (or what) are some of the masters you’ve served in the past? What masters pull at you for allegiance now? How do you deal with these pressures in light of your allegiance to Christ?

How can we use the spiritual goods at our disposal that are available through God’s grace?

Closing Prayer

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 952, 2424

Oh, how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Oh, if only all could understand how precious time is, undoubtedly everyone would do his best to spend it in a praiseworthy manner! -St. Padre Pio

25^th Sunday: How much do I owe?

"The children of this world are more prudent . . . than are the children of light."

The Word for Sunday: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092213.cfm

Am 8:4-7
1 Tm 2:1-8
Lk 16:1-13

Our Gospel this Sunday is one of the most complex and disturbing of all Jesus' parables but I think is also one of the most clever. Maybe a lesson from life is helpful to understand Jesus’ words.

As children, my father would often remind us: “I was raised in the school of hard knocks!” We heard his axiom often enough that we would sarcastically finish the phrase for him when he would begin to speak.

When older, wiser, and more mature, we realized that my father, as so many of his generation in the 1920’s – 40’s, did indeed have to make many sacrifices and endure the “hard knocks” of the depression and the Second World War in order to make it. That experience formed them to be practical, realistic, no nonsense and careful with money. Even my Dad’s approach to religion was more pragmatic but at the same time very sincere. Over time, he became clever in business yet at the same time faithful to God. Life often teaches us more than can be learned in any classroom.

As life experience does, the parables of Jesus sometimes comfort us but other times they confuse us or may even shock us into serious reflection. Our three parables last week, for example, from Luke 15 were comforting: the lost sheep, the coin of great price, and the ever inspiring story of the wayward son and the merciful father.

However, this Sunday we find an image from the Gospel that indeed may cause us to do a double take. The images are realistic. We can imagine such self-serving behavior as was found in the steward. But it takes a turn: Did Jesus really say: “. . . make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth?” (Lk 16: 9). The story speaks of a wily steward who cleverly turns the tables to his own benefit. He deliberately reduces the amount owed to his master from his master’s debtors in order to gain a benefit to himself rather than to his master who just fired him due to his own dishonesty. To our surprise, the master commends him for “acting prudently!”

The fired steward, through his act of debt reduction, favored the debtors who now owe him a good turn. In that way, though fired by his master, he still has certain benefactors who owe him a good. On face value, very shrewd. The steward is popular with the debtors as they thought he was speaking on behalf of a merciful master and the master, though he will now come up short on his own debts, wins the esteem of his debtors due to what they perceived as his generosity. Honor is everything. Clever.

Jesus points out that, “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” (Lk 16: 8-9). In other words, learn a lesson from the shrewdness of even the self-serving steward. Use such skill and ingenuity in pursuing true wealth and value as “children of light.” Jesus implies that money isn’t everything. It can be used for the good and should not be simply stacked up and hidden away for one’s own selfish purposes but to bring benefit to others. Yet, never at the cost of distracting us from the greater benefit that God offers us. Wealth should be a means to a higher good and not an end in itself.

In the case of the spiritual life, the wealth which God offers, its value is more than anything the world can give. Then, in our spiritual life of prayer, good works, participation in the sacramental life of the Church, regular gathering with the community in worship, generosity and good stewardship of material wealth for the works of faith, personal sacrifices and humble service to others in Christ’s name, we find the true master whom we serve.

Our Eucharist reminds us of God’s generosity with us. How in Jesus’ own death and resurrection, whatever we owed to God is reduced and even more is possible to be wiped out through his mercy and forgiveness. What he asks of us in return is that we be wise and faithful disciples.

O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law
upon love of you and of our neighbor,
grant that, by keeping your precepts,
we may merit to attain eternal life.

Insight Scoop

Parables, Puzzlement, and Prudence

"Prudentia" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (mid-16th century)

Parables, Puzzlement, and Prudence | A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for September 22, 2013 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Am 8:4-7
• Ps 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8
• 1 Tm 2:1-8
• Lk 16:1-13

How difficult is the parable of the dishonest steward, heard in today’s Gospel reading? “Of all of Jesus’ parables,” writes New Testament scholar Dr. Craig L. Blomberg in Preaching the Parables (Baker Academic, 2004), “this is probably the most puzzling. It is certainly the one on which more scholarly ink has been spilled than any other.”

There may be no need for “probably”; in my opinion, this is the most puzzling of the parables. The parable has a similar structure to the parable of the unforgiving, or ungrateful, steward (Matt 18:23-35; Lk. 7:41-43), with three levels of social status: the master, the steward, and the debtors. But whereas the parable of the unforgiving steward is straightforward in its moral message—if you wish to receive forgiveness, you must extend forgiveness—the moral and message of the parable of the dishonest steward is not immediately clear.

First, the steward, who has misused his master’s money and so faces the loss of job and status, uses dishonest means in order to open doors for future prospects. He doesn’t admit his guilt, ask for forgiveness, or attempt to make matters right. Secondly, having changed the amounts due on the promissory notes (and thus ingratiating himself to the debtors), the steward is—shockingly—commended by his master. Why? Because he had, Jesus said, acted prudently.

At this point, many readers might understandably move from being puzzled to being perplexed. It seems that Jesus not only presented a parable condoning dishonest and self-serving behavior, but had actually praised it! But St. Augustine, in preaching upon this parable, stated that Jesus “surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket.” So why, he asked, “did the Lord put this before us”? We must be careful to not miss what Jesus indicated was a key point of the parable: “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”

And, in fact, Augustine writes that the parable is not meant to praise the sins of the steward but to extol him “because he exercised foresight for the future. When even a cheat is praised for his ingenuity, Christians who make no such provision blush.” Put simply, the parable extols shrewdness and ingenuity, and urges Christians to employ them for the sake of the Kingdom. It is very much a commentary on Jesus’ statement, “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves” (Matt. 10:16). The Greek word denotes the virtue of prudence, that virtue which “disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1806).

Unfortunately, we can sometimes reject such shrewdness and prudence out of a sense of false piety, naivety, or fearfulness. Yet the Catechism, in speaking of prudence, says it “is not to be confused with timidity or fear, nor with duplicity or dissimulation.” As children of the light, we should seek to use every good and moral means available to us to build up the Kingdom of God, to proclaim the Gospel, and to defend the Catholic Faith. Yet, if we are honest, we recognize how timid and unsure we often are, especially in the face of the questions and attacks presented by the children of this world. “Instead of being as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves,” Blomberg rightly states, “we become as wicked as serpents and as dumb as doves!”

In order to have and to increase prudence, we should always keep in mind Jesus’ concluding exhortation: “No servant can serve two masters.” Prudence is “right reason in action,” which means it is rooted in right priorities and the knowledge that we are not of this world, but are children of light and children of God.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the September 19, 2010, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Regnum Christi

The Choice of Masters

| SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 16: 1-13

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 kors 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 are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."

Introductory Prayer: Lord, you are the author of life and the giver of all that is good. You are the Prince of Peace and my mainstay. You are my healer and the cure itself. I need you, and I need to give you. I love you and commit myself to you entirely, knowing you could never let me down or deceive me. Thank you for giving me your very self.

Petition: Lord my Savior, today help me to exert my heart’s effort for your cause.

1. Two Faces: To say one thing and to do the opposite must be the hardest moral strife for the human heart to bear. Those who live with two faces indeed live in a restless state. Their conscience dictates one way, but their deeds are displayed conspicuously to the contrary. They bear a responsibility that they are obliged to fulfill, yet they waste time in peripheral nonsense. Thus they let down those who might reap the benefits had they been faithful to that responsibility. This rips the ethical peace in the two-faced individual.

2. A Worthy Solution: Having two faces creates suspicion in human relationships. Nevertheless, our Lord finds a redeeming mechanism in place – a worthy outcome to the deeds of this insincere steward. The steward, on learning that his time is limited, craftily conjures up friendships with the debtors he was doing business with from the start. His master praises the tactic used by the fired steward. The master even studies the prudence and creativity of this current, untrustworthy enemy so as to teach the incoming stewards how to deal trustworthily with customers and vendors. Such dedication in crunch times could be very useful and quite glorious – especially when it is performed by reliable stewards. What good could be truly achieved!

3. One-Sidedness: On one hand, there seems to appear a great blessedness when the steward implements skills like kindness and prudence, deals intelligently, and does more in less time. Yet, on the other hand, he still undermines the wishes and desires of the master. How do I see this in my life? In my relationship with Christ and his Church, do I recognize the great blessedness in possessing a love for God and in putting my skills, talents and gifts to use solely for God’s glory and the establishment of his Kingdom? Does everything I do, ranging from conducting a family activity to receiving a phone call in the office or going to a party, have this unifying drive for God’s glory and the establishment of his Kingdom?

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Divine Master, for sharing with me briefly an important lesson in becoming a true follower of yours and becoming truly happy in the depths of my heart. Help me to raise my heart high, as I endeavor to praise you by my thoughts, words and deeds.

Resolution: Today, as I deal with someone, I will truly look for their benefit by helping them and being kind to them.