August 27, 2011
Saturday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
On the subject of fraternal charity
you have no need for anyone to write you,
for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
Indeed, you do this for all the brothers throughout Macedonia.
Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more,
and to aspire to live a tranquil life,
to mind your own affairs,
and to work with your own hands,
as we instructed you. Thessalonians 4:9-11
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy. Matthew 25:23
Piety
Father, you give us all the good gifts possible. Help us to use these as you intended with proper stewardship of creation and charity toward each other so that the peace of Christ will come as promised. Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, help us to progress even more to live a life filled with piety, study and action as we become you’re your hands at work in this world to build the Kingdom. Amen.
Study
Let's not read today's Gospel too literally. This is not what Jesus wants us to know about investing for retirement. This is symbolic of what we are to do with the gifts the Lord provides to us. In fact other parables tell us not to store up treasures in this world in some 401K account but to share what we have with each other and those who have less.
We know the basics -- Love God. Love one another as God loves us. We need no more reminder about this than St. Paul needed to remind the people of Thessalonika about these lessons. However, we do need to always aspire to progress even more. Isn't that what Cursillo is all about? Isn't that what Christianity is all about? The more we perfect his life, then the more gifts we will be granted to continue to fulfill our responsibilities as Christians.
Action
As the Prayer of St. Theresa and today's first reading remind us, we are the only hands God has left in this world to do the Kingdom-building work required. How will you build the Kingdom today while many of us are hunkered down awaiting the onset of Hurricane Irene?
Forgetting our own personal confrontation with the storm, let us remind ourselves of the financial forces that continue to swell.
In his blog, Fr. Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA, reminds us of the few voices who are trying to get us to focus on those who are truly suffering. He seeks the coming of new prophets who will take the focus off "inward political wrangling" and shift it to helping our fellow citizens.
Consider subscribing to Fr. Larry's Blog (http://www.thinkandactanew.org/) or pick up his book Think and Act Anew from Orbis Books. These can become additional sources to strengthen us for our journey and help us to progress even more.
