“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities.” – Matthew 25:21

       My friend, Mariz, is the seventh of 11 children. When she was 11, her father passed away. A few months later, her mother left home. She and her siblings were left to fend for themselves. Mariz moved from one relative to another. She worked while she studied. She finally finished a two-year college course and was able to get a job. She did her best in every job she got. Her manager noticed this and promoted her. Soon, Mariz became a manager herself.

       Another friend, Pat, joined the Light of Jesus Family and started to serve in different ministries. She did every task assigned to her with excellence. She assumed leadership roles. She now leads the Singles Ministry of The Feast Bay Area, and continues to inspire other singles to love and serve the Lord.

       Colossians 3:23-24 tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as to the Lord and not for men. For you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.” In my work and service, this Bible passage has been my guide. And it has brought success and blessing to all whoheed it. Meann Tee (meanntytee@yahoo.com)

Reflection: When we are faithful to the task assigned to us, we put ourselves on the road to success.

Father, help me to do my best in everything that I do so that people may see and give glory to Your Name. Amen.

All the glory belongs to the Lord, whether we like it or not. When we keep the glory for ourselves, we are living a lie. This will never bear good fruit because we cannot claim the glory for the graces that God works through us. Let us remember this so that we do not stifle the work of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

26 Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, 28 and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, 29 so that no human being might boast before God. 30 It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.

Psalm 33:12-13, 18-19, 20-21

R: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

12 Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down; he sees all mankind. (R) 18 But see, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, 19 to deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. (R) 20 Our soul waits for the Lord, who is our help  and our shield, 21 for in him our hearts rejoice; in his holy name we trust. (R)

We celebrate today the feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine of Hippo. In the Gospel, God asks us to use the graces He gives us — nothing more and nothing less. Monica spent most of her time interceding for the salvation of her wayward son. Her prayers were answered and St. Augustine became the greatest and most influential of theologians of the Church.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Matthew 25:14-30

14 Jesus told his disciples this parable: “A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one — to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  Immediately 16 the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. 17Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18 But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 22 Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great  responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25 so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26 His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28 Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And throw  this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”

think: God asks us to use the graces He gives us — nothing more and nothing less.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR  Isaiah 45-48

ST. MONICA: AN EXTRAORDINARY WIFE

AND MOTHER

Not much would be known about today’s saint, St. Monica, if not for her son, St. Augustine, who had written about her in his Confessions.

       She was an extraordinary woman, born of a Christian family in North Africa. At a young age, she was married to Patricius, a much older, violent man, a pagan and a womanizer. Her mother-in-law caused her life to become hell. And yet she survived. After some years, both her husband and her mother-in-law received baptism. How did Monica achieve this? First, because of a very strict education at home, she had become a strong person. Second, she never judged or nagged her husband or gossiped. She was able to control her tongue. After all, gossip never does anything good.

       As Pope Francis once said, “It’s so rotten, gossip. At the beginning, it seems to be something enjoyable and fun, like a piece of candy. But at the end, it fills the heart with bitterness and also poisons us… Gossip can also kill, because it kills the reputation of the person” (February 16, 2014).

     Monica’s biggest problem was her son who joined the Manichaean heresy, fled from his strict mother to Italy, and had at least one mistress and a son out of wedlock. For 20 years, Monica prayed for the conversion of Augustine. On Easter 387, St. Ambrose baptized Augustine in Milan, Italy. Shortly after, Monica died at Ostia, Italy. St. Augustine recorded her last words: “Lay this body anywhere, let not the care for it trouble you at all. This only I ask, that you will remember me at the Lord’s altar, wherever you be” (IX.11). And then: “On the ninth day of her sickness, the fifty-sixth year of her age, and the thirty-third of mine, was that religious and devout soul set free from the body.” Augustine attributed his conversion to the tears and prayers of his mother, Monica. A timely reminder of the role that parents play, especially mothers. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTION: As a parent, do you spoil your children or bring them up to be devout Christians and responsible citizens?

Lord, through the intercession of St. Monica, I pray for all mothers, that the example of this holy mother will inspire them to bring their children close to Christ through their prayers and tears.