“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones.” – Luke 16:10

       Let me ask you something. Do you ever dream of giving away one million pesos?

       I do. But I’m still in the process of learning to give away one hundred thousand pesos.

       Before that, I learned to give away ten thousand pesos.

       And way before that, I had to learn to give away one thousand pesos first.

       Have you ever dreamed of being responsible for a hundredmillion-peso-business?

       Then learn to be responsible for a hundred-thousand-pesobusiness. But believe me when I tell you that before you even get there, you have to start being responsible for a thousand-pesobusiness first. And then God will allow you to work your way up.

       Then learn to get out of your comfort zone, and keep at it. The next thing you know, God is already allowing you to live a life  without limits because He knows that you can handle it. Orange Garcia (orange_garcia@hotmail.com)

Reflection: Success is not built overnight. It’s all about starting slow and finishing strong, and starting small but finishing big.

Lord, give me the wisdom to become and remain a responsible and accountable steward.

St. Didacus, pray for us.

Paul is a well-connected man. He has many friends in Rome and he uses his networks of friends to further the work of the Gospel. We should follow his example. After all, it is the people who know us — and not strangers — who will listen when we proclaim the Gospel.

Romans 16:3-9, 16, 22-27

3 Brothers and sisters: Greet Prisca and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I am grateful but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5 greet also the Church at their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the firstfruits in Asia for Christ. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners; they are prominent among the Apostles and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 22 I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole Church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you. 24-25 Now to him who can strengthen you, according to my Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret for long ages 26 but now manifested through the prophetic writings and, according to the command of the eternal God, made known to all nations to bring about the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11

R: I will praise your name forever, Lord.

2 Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. 3 Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; his greatness is unsearchable. (R) 4 Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. 5 They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works. (R) 10 Let all your works give you thanks, O Lord, and let your faithful ones bless you. 11 Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. (R)

Money is a lousy master. It will destroy the spiritual life of people who make it their god. However, it is a necessary part of life. We must discern how to use money well. How can we put it at the service of the Kingdom of God in the proclamation of the Gospel? Even Jesus speaks in these terms about wealth as we see in today’s Gospel. Let us ensurethat money and wealth are always under our control and never let them take control of our lives.

Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

9 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. 10 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. 11 If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 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.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. 15 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.”

think: We must discern how to use money well.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Isaiah 61-63

CELEBRATE THE OTHER

One cannot miss the affection Paul had for the innumerable others that helped him in his ministry. The First Reading is an honor roll of people Paul felt a debt of gratitude to, people he credited as indispensable in the exercise of his ministry as missionary of Christ. Great as he was, Paul never paid attention to himself. In fact, he would often refer to himself as “the least of the apostles, not deserving to be called an apostle” (1 Corinthians 15:9). As far as Paul was concerned, he was nothing without the others who assisted him.

       Search the Scriptures and you will find that God is displeased with arrogance. “I hate pride and arrogance,” we read in Proverbs 8:13. In 1 Samuel 2:3, we are reminded, “Do not let arrogance issue from your mouths.” Proverbs 16:18 says, “As humility goes before honor, pride comes before a fall.”

       May I suggest some practical tips to avoid the trap of giving ourselves too much self-importance?

       First of all, don’t take your successes seriously. Max Lucado is one of the most successful Christian writers/preachers of our time. I read that he would often bring his money and count them in a cemetery to remind him that he could not take it with him, keeping in mind the words of Scriptures: “People come to the world with nothing, they take with them nothing” (see Ecclesiastes 5:15).

      Secondly, take conscious effort to celebrate the significance of others. John Stockton is the NBA all-time leader in assists made and was recently inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame. (An assist is a statistic counted when a teammate passes the ball to another in such a way as to make it possible for that teammate to score a goal easily.) We usually notice only the man who scores the goal, but as John Stockton said, “In every goal is a hidden assist.”

       To celebrate the significance of others is to realize that in every “goal” we have made in life, there are people who “assisted” us in the background, without whom it would not have been easy or even possible. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Make an inventory of everyone who has given you an “assist” in life and be grateful for them.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of “others.” May I be a helpful “other” to another as well. Amen.