To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. – Matthew 13:12

       Will you allow me to boast for the glory of God? I experience financial and spiritual abundance because I believe the Lord has endowed me with gifts in these areas. My finances are invested in the right places and I attribute this to the gift of discernment coming from the Holy Spirit. Because of this, I don’t need to work for money; instead, my money works for me.

       Don’t get me wrong — I still work hard. But now I am able to pour my time and energy into using my administrative skills for God’s work.

     In the past, these core gifts of management made me wealthy in business. Today, God is using these same gifts as I help Bo Sanchez run his worship services every Sunday, where 16,000 people (and growing) come to experience Jesus. With more than 2,200 volunteers to manage, it isn’t an easy job; but I do the task gratis et amore — free — for the love of God.

       Knowing my calling and heeding it drives me to do this. And it has made me one joyful, peaceful person filled with love. Rolly España (rollyespana@homeliving.com.ph)

Reflection: God has given us more than enough gifts that we will ever need in our lifetime. Discover and use it wisely.

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest and doctor of the Church, pray for us.

When we abandon the Lord’s will, the structures we build will ultimately collapse because they are not founded on His grace. It is critical that we discern the will of God. Let us do what God wants us to do.

Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13

1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown. 3Sacred to the Lord was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; should any presume to partake of them, evil would befall him, says the Lord. 7 When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, you entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome. 8 The priests asked not, “Where is the Lord?” Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols. 12 Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord. 13 “Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.

Psalm 36:6-7, 8-9, 10-11

R: With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

5 [6] O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds. 6 [7] Your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments, like the mighty deep. (R) 7 [8] How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 [9] They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house; from your delightful stream you give them to drink. (R) 9 [10] For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. 10 [11] Keep up your mercy toward your friends, your just defense of the upright of heart. (R)

The parables are not always easy to understand but they are all about the Kingdom of God. Each parable tells us something about the nature of His Kingdom and exhorts us to ensure this is in place in our lives. Let us read the parables anew and allow them to challenge us to grow in our faith and discipleship.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:10-17

10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” 11 He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 12 To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. 14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 15 Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 Amen,  I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

think: Let us always do what God wants us to do.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Tobit 1-3

NOT YOUR BEDTIME STORIES

Churchgoers are happy when the priest begins his homily with a story. It is easier to move from an interesting story to the often difficult content of the Gospel reading. Like today, this Gospel causes a lot of difficulties. I don’t have any story that would lead us to a deeper understanding of the puzzling words of Jesus. It seems that He used parables so that the people would not understand His message, but in reality Jesus told stories and parables so that the simple fishermen and farmers would be able to catch the profound message of His teaching.

       Jesus actually did here what Jewish rabbis used to do and still do until now: tell stories. Despite their simplicity, parables can puzzle the listener. A parable leads the listener to reflect and ask: What does it mean? What is the lesson? But there are people who simply enjoy the story without asking these questions, and so they hear but don’t understand.

       Jesus told stories that were taken from the everyday life of His listeners, like simple people in rural Galilee. But 2,000 years later, we still read them and realize that there are truths hidden that apply to our present-day situations and problems. Countless books have been written by commentators about the parables, but their meaning has not been exhausted. These simple stories are not nice bedtime stories.

       Whenever the Gospel on a Sunday presents one of Jesus’ parables and you would go around as many churches as you like, the priests would give different homilies and present different applications in their homilies. Therefore, it would be good to listen well to Jesus’ parables. It would be good to read them attentively, to reflect and ask ourselves: Lord, what are You telling me today through this story? And what He tells you today might not be the same thing that He would tell you tomorrow because you and your situation have changed. After all, the simple parables are inspired by the Holy Spirit and are channels of God’s guidance for us. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do you allow the parables of Jesus to lead you into deeper reflection?

Lord, open my heart to pay more attention to what lies behind the simple words and images that You illustrate through Your parables. Amen.