Posted on 08/30/2025 6:13:02 AM PDT by fidelis
“The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.’” Matthew 25:20–21
Oftentimes, when we are presented with a story of success versus tragedy, our attention goes to the tragedy first. The parable we are given today, the Parable of the Talents, presents us with three persons. Two of the people display stories of great success. One, however, offers a story that is more tragic. The tragic story ends by the master telling the servant who buried his money that he is a “wicked, lazy servant!” But both of the success stories end with the master saying, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.” Let’s focus upon these success stories.
Both of the servants who were successful doubled the master’s money. Even from a secular point of view, that is very impressive. If you were investing money with a financial advisor and shortly after investing you were told that your money had doubled, you’d be quite pleased. Such a rate of return is rare. This is the first message we should take from this parable.
Doubling the gifts and graces God gives us is very doable. The reason for this is not primarily because of us; rather, it’s because of God. By their very nature, God’s gifts to us are meant to grow. By its very nature, grace flows in superabundance; and, when we cooperate with God’s grace, then it grows in an exponential way.
When you consider your own life, what gifts has God given to you that He wants you to use for His glory? Are there gifts buried away that remain stagnant or, even worse, are used for purposes that are contrary to the divine plan for your life? Some of the more obvious gifts you were given within your very nature are your intellect and will. Additionally, you may be extra-talented in one way or another. These are all gifts given on a natural level. In addition to these, God often bestows supernatural gifts in abundance when we begin to use what we have for His glory and for the salvation of others. For example, if you work to share the truths of our faith with others, God will begin to deepen your supernatural gifts of Counsel, Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding so that you will be able to speak about God...
Reflect, today, upon the fact that what God has given to you, both on a natural and supernatural level, must be devoted to the service of God and others. Do you do this? Do you try to use every talent, every gift, every part of who you are for God’s glory and the eternal good of others? If you don’t, then those gifts dwindle away. If you do, you will see those gifts of God’s grace grow in manifold ways. Strive to understand the gifts you have received and firmly resolve to use them for God’s glory and the salvation of souls. If you do, you will also hear our Lord say to you one day, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Oh, Lord Jesus Christ, grant me the Spirit of Wisdom, that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding, to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth; the Spirit of Counsel, that I may choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining Heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude, that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge, that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints; the Spirit of Piety, that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable; the Spirit of Fear of the Lord, that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Jesus, I trust in You.
Please keep in mind that this is a Catholic Caucus/Devotional thread for the purpose of prayerful reflection on the Sacred Scriptures and is closed to debate of any kind. Per FR policy on Religion Caucus threads, off-topic, argumentative, and abusive comments are not allowed and will be submitted to the Mods for deletion. Thanks, and God bless you.
The Month of August is Dedicated to Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
“And Jesus went down with his parents and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.”
(Luke 2:51)
O Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord of Heaven and of Earth, Our Lady of Guadalupe, guide and protect the Roman Pontiff, Pope Leo XIV. Through your intercession, may he receive in abundance the grace of the Successor of Saint Peter: the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity of our Bishops and of all our brothers and sisters in the Mystical Body of your Divine Son. Unite Pope Leo’s heart to your Immaculate Heart, leading him to rest his heart ever more securely in the glorious-pierced Heart of Jesus, so that he may confirm us in the Catholic faith, in the worship of God in spirit and truth, and in a good and holy Christian life. In the tumult of the present time, keep Pope Leo securely within the hollow of your mantle, in the crossing of your arms, protecting him from Satan, the Father of Lies, and from every evil spirit. Implore Our Lord to grant him, in particular, the wisdom and courage to be a true Shepherd of the Church throughout the world. With you, I place all my trust in Christ, the Good Shepherd, Who alone is our help and salvation. Amen.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother, have mercy upon us!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!
Pope Saint Leo the Great, pray for us!
Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE
May 18, 2025.
Pope Leo XIV’s prayer intentions for the month of August, 2025:
For mutual coexistence
Let us pray that societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious, or ideological reasons.
First Reading:
From: 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11
Charity and Good Use of Time
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[9] But concerning love of the brethren you have no need to have any one write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another; [10] and indeed you do love all the brethren throughout Macedonia. But we exhort you, brethren, to do so more and more, [11] to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you; [12] so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on nobody.
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Commentary:
9-10. "The greatest commandment of the law is to love God with one's whole heart and one's neighbor as oneself (cf. Mt 22:37-40). Christ has made this love of neighbor his personal commandment and has enriched it with a new meaning when he willed himself, along with his brothers, to be the object of this charity, saying, 'When you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me' (Mt. 25:40). In assuming human nature he has united to himself all mankind in a supernatural solidarity which makes of it one single family. He has made charity the distinguishing mark of his disciples, in the words: 'By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another' (Jn 13:35). In the early days the Church linked the 'agape' to the eucharistic supper, and by so doing showed itself as one body around Christ united by the bond of charity. So too, in all ages, love is its characteristic mark" (Vatican II, "Apostolicam Actuositatem", 8). Love for the other members of the Church is fraternal love, a love which brothers and sisters should have for one another, for the Church is one large family. The Thessalonians practised this love not only among themselves but also with the other believers living in Macedonia; fraternal charity is absolutely necessary for the unity of Christians. "No tongue can tell the heights to which love uplifts us", St Clement of Rome teaches. "Love unites us to God; love casts a veil over innumerable sins; there are no limits to love's endurance, no end to its patience. There is nothing base, nothing proud, about love [...] It was in love that all God's chosen ones were made perfect. Without love nothing is pleasing to God" ("Letter to the Corinthians", 1, 49).
11-12. Everyone has certain obligations connected with his position in life which he should conscientiously fulfill. They include, particularly, duties to do with work and family, and they provide us with an opportunity for conversation with God. St John Chrysostom teaches, for example: "A woman working in the kitchen or doing some sewing can always raise her thoughts to heaven and fervently invoke the Lord. If someone is on the way to market or is traveling alone, he can easily pray attentively. Someone else who is in his wine-cellar, engaged in stitching wine skins, is free enough to raise his heart to the Master" ("Fifth Homily on Anna", 4, 6).
Work is something of immense human and supernatural value, for it is a means readily at hand for personal sanctification and cooperation with others. It would be unworthy of a Christian to live an idle life and expect to be supported by the charity of others. St Paul counsels everyone who can to look after his family and "be dependent on nobody". And so we find the following in one of the very earliest Christian documents: "If someone wants to settle down among you, and is a skilled worker, let him find employment and earn his bread. If he knows no trade, use your discretion to make sure that he does not live in idleness on the strength of being a Christian. If he does not want to work, he is only trying to exploit Christ. Be on your guard against people of that sort" ("Didache", 12). So, a person cannot be regarded as a good Christian if he does not try to work well, for "our professional vocation is an essential and inseparable part of our condition as Christians. Our Lord wants you to be holy in the place where you are, in the job you have chosen" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 60).
In addition to promoting personal sanctification and cooperation with others, work gives the Christian a share in Christ's work of Redemption. "Sweat and toil, which work necessarily involves in the present condition of the human race, present the Christian and everyone who is called to follow Christ with the possibility of sharing lovingly in the work that Christ came to do (cf. Jn 17:4). This work of salvation came about through suffering and death on a Cross. By enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity. He shows himself a true disciple of Christ by carrying the cross in his turn every day (cf. Lk 9:23) in the activity that he is called upon to perform" (John Paul II, "Laborem Exercens", 27).
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Gospel Reading:
From: Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
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(Jesus said to His disciples,) [14] "For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; [15] to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. [16] He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. [17] So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. [18] But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money.
[19] Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. [20] And he who received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' [21] His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' [22] And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, `Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.' [23] His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.' [24] He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, `Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; [25] so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.' [26] But his master answered him, `You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? [27] Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. [28] So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. [29] For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. [30] And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.'"
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Commentary:
14-30. A talent was not any kind of coin but a measure of value worth about fifty kilos (one hundred pounds) of silver.
In this parable the main message is the need to respond to grace by making a genuine effort right through one's life. All the gifts of nature and grace which God has given us should yield a profit. It does not matter how many gifts we have received; what matters is our generosity in putting them to good use.
A person's Christian calling should not lie hidden and barren: it should be outgoing, apostolic and self-sacrificial. "Don't lose your effectiveness; instead, trample on your selfishness. You think your life is for yourself? Your life is for God, for the good of all men, though your love for our Lord. Your buried talent, dig it up again! Make it yield" (St. J. Escriva, "Friends of God", 47).
An ordinary Christian cannot fail to notice that Jesus chose to outline his teaching on response to grace by using the simile of men at work. Here we have a reminder that the Christian normally lives out his vocation in the context of ordinary, everyday affairs. "There is just one life, made of flesh and spirit. And it is this life which has to become, in both soul and body, holy and filled with God. We discover the invisible God in the most visible and material things. There is no other way. Either we learn to find our Lord in ordinary, everyday life, or else we shall never find Him" (St. J. Escriva, "Conversations", 114).
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