This week in
our parish we are continuing the theme of stewardship. We began last week when our lay volunteers
spoke to you at the end of mass giving you a quick insight to what is going on
at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and what they do as individuals. This week Fr. Nick has asked that he and I
continue this conversation – reflection in more depth.
I believe
there are three things or better yet three virtues that make a good steward,
one) humility, two) charity, and three) perseverance.
In today’s
Gospel the tax collector who went up to the Temple to pray knew that he was not
worthy to do so. He recognized a truth\s
about himself; he was a sinner who needed God, in particular His mercy. When God calls us to ministry, to become
stewards we must always do so with reverence and awe, realizing that of
ourselves we are not worthy to be his stewards.
In another place in Scripture it says, “Is he grateful to that servant because
he did what was commanded? So should it be
with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are
unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’” (Lk 17:9-10)
God calls us all to a vocation and He also calls us to
ministry, not just Sunday mass, as important and vital and life giving that –
that it is. God gives us a job in the
Church; it can be from simply praying for everyone to setting up for the Parish
Festival. When He calls us in that
ministry we must remember, the ministry belongs to God, it belongs to the
Church and I am blessed as an unprofitable servant to be given this task. The call and the task is all about God’s
grace lest I become proud and boastful.
Charity is involved because we have to respond in
kind. God has responded to us in
love. We were dead in our sins or put in a
more modern way, "we were dead men walking."
God’s great love was to fill us with life and grace through His Son
Jesus Christ. All of us have been given this gift. He is right there on the
Cross reminding us of the cost of that gift, and He also gives us the gift of
resurrection because Jesus is no longer dead. Since we have received both gifts we also are
no longer dead men walking, rather people filled with the Spirit and on fire.
What then will I give; will it just be sixty minutes on a
Sunday? Driving here and back home
doesn’t count just like it doesn’t count as time at your job. So,
is one hour a week enough repayment for that (pointing to the Cross)?
No, it is not, God requires the best of us and He requires us all the
time. Granted you are not ministerial
priests or deacons or religious and you do not have as much time as we, but
nevertheless God calls you. He knows the
busyness of your lives and your responsibilities, they are tremendous and for
the Church to ask for more might even sound unfair, but it is not just the
Church – meaning our Parish, but God Himself who asks.
God calls us to do more in our community. In some ways Fr. Nick and I should not even
have to ask. You may think that is bold
of me or a little to New Yorkish, but it’s true, God is the one who has been
stirring your hearts and it comes from His love. Are you listening and are you responding?
Finally, perseverance. This is possibly the greatest if not the most
difficult virtues to obtain and perfect.
Now once again, your ministry may be as simple as praying for the Parish
if you can do no more, but its not just praying one or two times, but praying
for our Church as much as you can and as often as you can, to build up a
ministry of prayer. For those who can do
more physically to get involved in a ministry but then to not just show up
once, but quite often blessing us with you presence, gifts, and talents, and
most of all your friendship. AMEN! FJ
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