Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lord's point in today’s gospel is that we often demonstrate our intelligence, but we don't apply this intelligence to the one thing that really matters: our eternal salvation[1].

This morning [afternoon] in the presence of the Lord let us consider the number of times we've sat down and worked out how we can use our talents to be better Christians. Let us consider the number of times we've thought out how we can put ourselves in situations, which would avoid moral problems we've had in the past. Let us consider the number of times we've plotted out how we can implant the practice of our faith in our families. If we were to add up the minutes spent a month doing this and compare them to the minutes a month spent working out our financial deals, would there be any comparison at all?

My brother, my sister, today the Lord is telling us something simple: You have the intelligence, so use it! Use it to fulfill the mission you assumed when I called you to be my disciples. We must be as resourceful and dedicated in the ways of God as we are in the ways of commerce and politics. Jesus' parable challenges us today to be eager and ingenious for the sake of God's reign.

Today we celebrate, also, catechetical Sunday 2010. The third Sunday of September in the United States is celebrated as Catechetical Sunday in order to acknowledge, appreciate and commission those who are catechists. In his encyclical letter Redemptoris Missio Pope John Paul II, says: “Among the laity who become evangelizers, catechists have a place of honor...Catechists are among those who have received Christ’s command to ‘go and teach all nations’”[2].

So, help me today to give thanks to the Lord for our catechists. God gives them intelligence to make His presence real in the world and among our children, let us give thanks to the Lord and ask that more people come to help us to extend the Kingdom of God. Amen ■

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[1] Sunday 19th September, 2010, 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the United States, Catechetical Sunday. Readings: Amos 8:4-7. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor—Ps 112(113):1-2, 4-8. 1 Timothy 2:1-8. Luke 16:1-13 [St Januarius].

[2] Guide for Catechists, 33

Ilustration: M. Chagall, The creation of Man, Museum of Modern Art (New York)