Sunday, September 22, 2019

Mother Teresa advises, ”Do little things with great love.”

We are God’s stewards in this world. It behooves us not only to be faithful but also prudent in our stewardship with anything entrusted to us. Wealth, money, properties, power, positions, talents, etc are Divine gifts given us to be used for the right purpose for a better world and also to gain the heavenly blissfulness. 

But unfortunately, in our contemporary world today, when men acquire these things, they rather use them to subdue their fellow human beings and also engage in activities that are inimical to the Divine will and purpose which has brought about social injustice and corruption degrading the dignity and glory of man.

It is in this vein that in the 8th century the oracle of God came upon the prophet Amos (the 1st reading) to speak against the exploitation of the poor and the weak among the powerful and the rich Israelites in the Jewish communities. He, unequivocally, pointed out that God did not tolerate the abuse of the weak in their society.

Beloved one's in Christ, our modern society is bedeviled with decline in respecting moral precepts expressed by the abusive, disrespectful and arrogant treatment of the poor and the needy by the rich and the powerful. Integrity, honesty, truthfulness, etc are gradually depleting very fast. But as Christians we have the indispensable obligation to live an exemplary life by proving our good stewardship as we live up to expectations.  

Precious people of God, Apostle Paul in the second reading defends that the concern, love, care and providence of God are not limited to only the few but they extend to all people. So being selective or discriminatory in our prayers is wrong. Our prayers must embrace all the needs of our society. Therefore, we are reminded to pray fervently for those who are using power, position, wealth, money, etc to create social injustice, inequalities, abuse of right and liberty, etc in our world today. We do not need to hate them but pray for them, so they come to live a quiet and peaceable life and come to salvation through Jesus Christ - the one mediator. Meaning, prayer works... So believe in your prayers!

In our gospel reading Jesus cautioned against both the unjust means of acquiring worldly goods and the dishonest way of using them even if they were acquired justly. We must accept that God created all of these for our use. We are only managers or stewards, but our judgement is based on how we apply them. So do not allow earthly possessions to take all your focus and time. Always show gratitude, work honestly and be generous with your possessions to help the needy, the poor and the helpless in the society. Know that you are serving God but not money! Never use your possessions to create social strife and vices. Rather, use your possessions to secure your salvation. Be a responsible, delightful and prudent steward: for your reward awaits you.

May God increase your faith!
Have a wonderful week...hope to see you in Church.

Fr. Emmanuel

Readings for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time