|
|
It is possible to be so active in the service of Christ as to forget to love him.
- P. T. Forsyth
(Something to watch out for . . .)
|
|
|
ROM 15:14-21; PS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4
LK 16:1-8
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 measures 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 the children of light."
USCCB lectionary
|
Reflection on the Scripture
|
"It has been a point of honor with me never to preach in places where Christ's name was already known." —Romans 15:20
Paul focused on proclaiming Christ to people who had never heard of Jesus. We may not have the same call, but we should maximize opportunities to share our faith with unbelievers. For example, we should join groups in which unbelievers participate. This gives us a forum in which to share our faith. We should invite unbelievers to share meals with us. We love them whether or not they accept the Lord, and want to show it in simple, practical ways.
Prayer: Father, bring more unbelievers into my life. Help me love them and share You with them.
Promise: "God has given me the grace to be a minister of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of preaching the gospel of God so that the Gentiles may be offered up as a pleasing sacrifice, consecrated by the Holy Spirit." —Rm 15:15-16
Presentation Ministries
|
|
|
Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
BOOK II,
CHAPTER I. ON THE NATURE AND EXCELLENCE OF THE STATE OF ABANDONMENT
SECTION VII. Submission a Free Gift to God.
Every soul is called to enjoy the infinite benefits contained in this state.
Therefore do I preach abandonment, and not any particular state. Every state in which souls are placed by Your grace is the same to me. I teach a general method by which all can attain the state which You have marked out for them. I do not exact more than the will to abandon themselves to Your guidance. You will make them arrive infallibly at the state which is best for them.
It is faith that I preach; abandonment, confidence, and faith; the will to be subject to, and to be the tool of the divine action, and to believe that at every moment this action is working in every circumstance, provided that the soul has more or less good-will. This is the faith that I preach. It is not a special kind of faith, nor of charity, but a general state by which all souls can find God under the different
conditions which He assumes; and can take that form which divine grace has marked out for them. I have spoken to souls in trouble, and now I am speaking to all kinds of souls. It is the genuine instinct of my heart to care for all, to announce the saving secret far and wide, and to make myself all to all. In this happy disposition I make it a duty which I fulfil without difficulty, to weep with those who weep, to rejoice with those who rejoice, to speak foolishly with the foolish, and with the
learned to make use of more learned and more scholastic terms. I wish to make all understand that although they cannot aspire to the same distinct favours, they can attain to the same love, the same abnegation, the same God and His work, and thence it follows naturally, to the highest sanctity. Those graces which are called extraordinary and are given as privileges to certain souls, are only so called because there are so few sufficiently faithful to become worthy of receiving them. This will be
made manifest at the day of judgment. Alas! it will then be seen that instead of these divine favours having been withheld by God, it has been entirely by their own fault that these souls have been deprived of them. What untold blessings they would have received through the complete submission of a steadfast goodwill.
|
|
Paperback, Hardback, Kindle
|
|
Please support this outreach with a tax-deductible donation.
|
|
|
