Gospel Thought for Today
6th November: Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Luke 16:9-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“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.”
The Pharisees, who loved money,
heard all these things and sneered at him.
And he said to them,
“You justify yourselves in the sight of others,
but God knows your hearts;
for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection:
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?
During November, we remember our sisters and brothers who have “gone before us” to be with God. As we offer prayers for them this month, we cannot fail to recall how some of them led holy lives. Mary Burrows (RIP) comes to mind. When she was still with us at Our Lady’s Parish, she was very active in promoting the Divine Mercy devotion. Through her efforts, along with the efforts of others, our parish has been one of the few in the Diocese to hold a special service during Divine Mercy Sunday. She was also a special minister of Holy Communion. Her husband Chris was baptised into the Church the same year that she died. According to Chris, “It was evident that from very early days shed had decided to put her trust in the Lord our God and to leave things in His hands which I think was massively influential in helping her deal with her long-standing illness.” For me, she was trustworthy. In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges us to be faithful servants. God has entrusted something to us – life, family, work, community, wealth, etc. We do not own them; we only have them on loan. Each waking moment, let us do well in looking after these so that, at the end of our lives, the Lord will grant us what He promised would be ours: eternal life.
- What matters in life do you consider “small”?
- What matters in life do you consider “great”?
- How trustworthy are you?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Grant us the grace to be faithful and wise that we may carry out our mission and be worthy of eternal happiness with You. May the souls of all the faithful departed through Your Divine Mercy rest in peace. Amen.
