"?What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?? ? Luke 16:3

Whenever I receive financial blessings, I give tithes to the Lord first and then ask Him where I would spend it on. I realize that stewardship involves a lot of responsibility in small and big things.
      In household chores, I tell the household help to give importance to the resources God gives us- not to be wasteful in using water, soap, etc.
      Recently, members of a parish movement visited our home and were surprised to learn our house was over 20 years old considering the way it looks. But the most omplimentary remark we heard was that in the house they felt peace and tranquility. The house is allwhite and at the entrance a notice welcomes guests with ?Peace to all who enter this house?
      Seen through the living room is a large crucifix. A Bible is prominently enthroned in the dining area and Bible scriptures dominate the walls. We also replaced the liquor bar and turned it into a small altar to remind us to be thankful God allows us to enjoy these resources. We want our house to tell people who is the Lord of our home.Donna E.

REFLECTION:
Does our home reflect the Christ who resides in it?

Lord Jesus, we welcome you into our abode. Make yourself the King of our homes.

G O S P E L

Luke 16:1-8

Incompetence and cheating are a vicious sort of a circle. One has to keep adding to the initial instance of sin in order to carry on the ongoing cover-up. Once the cover-up is discovered, there is little one can do but face the consequences of one?s actions. The steward in today?s parable is not yet ready to give up and reform his life. He is still in the process of denial towards his sins and continues to try and get himself out of his situation through multiplying his sins. A pragmatist has no problem with this as long as he is not caught. This sort of philosophy is rampant today and we should ensure that we do not fall prey to it.

1 Then he also said to his disciples, ?A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 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.? 3 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. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.? 5 He called in his master?s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ?How much do you owe my master?? 6 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.? 7 Then to another he said, ?And you, how much do you owe?? He replied, ?One hundred kors of wheat.? He said to him, ?Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.? 8 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 are the children of light.?

my reflections
think: Let us ensure that we do not lose sight of the goal of eternal life.

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR John 1-3

I wonder who is not confused and shocked by today?s gospel. It is a story about rascals: the landowner should have put his dishonest manager in jail, but praises him. The manager is a cheater, and the debtors only too eagerly cooperate in the cheating. How can Jesus praise this dishonest manager and put rascals as models before us? The sweet holy pictures with their blond and pretty-pretty Jesus did not prepare us for the real, raw Jesus of the Gospels. He is not afraid of telling stories with rascals as heroes. After all, his Father was not afraid to dirty his hands by creating man from soil, and Jesus was not afraid to dirty his hands with our sinful humanity. The Gospels are not soap operas but down to earth Good News for sinners!
      Let us be clear: Jesus did not approve of the dishonesty. He praises the aptitude at taking a quick decision in the moment of a crisis. With this he tells us: ?When you have to face the ultimate crisis, that of ensuring your eternal future before God, the only smart thing to do is to act daringly and cleverly.? And so he puts this dishonest but clever manager before us, his disciples, to learn from him to be clear about our goals in life and use our intelligence and energy to achieve this. Unfortunately, we often lack the desire, the determination and the efficiency to achieve these goals. It is sad, but we Christians are usually not that clever, eager and efficient in bringing about the values of the Kingdom. Evil people often rule the world because good people do not take leadership or lack initiative. We often live as if there would be no final reckoning before God. And so the parable makes us aware of the account we have to give at the end of our lives to the Lord for our management of the graces He has entrusted to us. Would we also have to rush to straighten out some crooked business? I am afraid most of us have to. But again, the parable gives us hope. How? The manager gambled on his master?s generosity and won! With this Jesus tells us: ?When you face the crisis of God?s judgment, the clever thing to do is to bank on his generosity. By staking your whole eternal future on his mercy, you are sure to win.? Fr. Rudy H.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
Am I eager to secure my eternal future? What makes me so lazy in my faith life? What can I do to ensure my eternal future?

Lord, You amaze me with Your stories. Thank You for waking me up from my slumber. I have taken my faith and my relationship with You for granted. I have lived as if there were no final judgment. I lament because there is so much evil in the world but forgot that I should have done something positive to counteract it. Lord, strengthen me for this task.

St. Leo I, the Great, pope confessor, pray for us.