NOVEMBER 08, 2019 : FRIDAY OF THE THIRTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 489

Reading 1ROM 15:14-21

I myself am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters,
that you yourselves are full of goodness,
filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another.
But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you,
because of the grace given me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
in performing the priestly service of the Gospel of God,
so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything
except what Christ has accomplished through me
to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
by the power of signs and wonders,
by the power of the Spirit of God,
so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum
I have finished preaching the Gospel of Christ.
Thus I aspire to proclaim the Gospel
not where Christ has already been named,
so that I do not build on another’s foundation,
but as it is written:

Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.

Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4

R. (see 2b) The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Alleluia1 JN 2:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 16:1-8

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

www.usccb.org

Meditation: The necessity of prudent foresight

Do you make good use of your money and possessions? Jesus seemed to praise a steward (a manager entrusted with his master's goods) who misused his employer's money. What did the steward do that made Jesus praise him? The steward was responsible for managing his wealthy landowner's property. The steward very likely overcharged his master's tenants for their use of the land and kept more than his fair share of the profit. When the landowner discovered the steward's dishonest practice he immediately removed him from his job, leaving him penniless and ashamed to beg or do manual work.

The necessity of prudent foresight to avert disaster
Before news of his dismissal became public knowledge, the shrewd steward struck a deal with his master's debtors. In discounting their debts he probably was giving up his generous commission. Such a deal won him great favor with the debtors. Since the steward acted as the landowner's agent, such a deal made his master look very generous and forgiving towards those who owned him money. Surely everyone would praise such a generous landowner as the town hero! Since the master could not undo the steward's cancellation of the debts without losing face and making his debtors resent him, he praised the steward for outwitting him and making him appear as a generous and merciful landowner.

Jesus obviously thought that the example of a very clever steward would be a perfect illustration for a spiritual lesson about God and how God treats those who belong to his kingdom. What's the point of Jesus' parable? The dishonest steward is commended not for mishandling his master's wealth, but for his shrewd provision in averting personal disaster and in securing his future livelihood. The original meaning of "shrewdness" is "foresight". A shrewd person grasps a critical situation with resolution, foresight, and the determination to avoid serious loss or disaster.

Faith and prudent foresight can save us from moral and spiritual disaster
Jesus is concerned here with something more critical than a financial or economic crisis. His concern is that we avert spiritual crisis and personal moral disaster through the exercise of faith and foresight. If Christians would only expend as much foresight and energy to spiritual matters, which have eternal consequences, as they do to earthly matters which have temporal consequences, then they would be truly better off, both in this life and in the age to come.

God loves good stewardship and generosity
Ambrose, a 4th century bishop said: The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever. True wealth consists not in what we keep but in what we give away. Possessions are a great responsibility. The Lord expects us to use them honestly and responsibly and to put them at his service and the service of others. We belong to God and all that we have is his as well. He expects us to make a good return on what he gives us.

God loves generosity and he gives liberally to those who share his gifts with others. The Pharisees, however, had little room for God or others in their hearts. The Gospel says they were lovers of money (Luke 16:14). Love of money and wealth crowd out love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus makes clear that our hearts must either be possessed by God's love or our hearts will be possessed by the love of something else. What do you most treasure in your heart?

"Lord Jesus, all that I have is a gift from you. May I love you freely and generously with all that I possess. Help me to be a wise and faithful steward of the resources you put at my disposal, including the use of my time, money, and possessions."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus recommends the foresight, prudence, and ingenuity of the steward, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"Why did the Lord Jesus Christ present this parable to us? He surely did not approve of that cheat of a servant who cheated his master, stole from him and did not make it up from his own pocket. On top of that, he also did some extra pilfering. He caused his master further loss, in order to prepare a little nest of quiet and security for himself after he lost his job. Why did the Lord set this before us? It is not because that servant cheated but because he exercised foresight for the future. When even a cheat is praised for his ingenuity, Christians who make no such provision blush. I mean, this is what he added, 'Behold, the children of this age are more prudent than the children of light.' They perpetrate frauds in order to secure their future. In what life, after all, did that steward insure himself like that? What one was he going to quit when he bowed to his master's decision? He was insuring himself for a life that was going to end. Would you not insure yourself for eternal life?" (excerpt from 359A.10.)

www.dailyscripture.net

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, LUKE 16:1-8
Weekday
(Romans 15:14-21; Psalm 98)

KEY VERSE: "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light" (v. 8).
TO KNOW: In the Parable of the Dishonest Steward, Jesus contrasted the apparent indifference of the children of the kingdom of God with worldly people who shrewdly planned for their future. In the story, a steward had mismanaged his master's funds and was faced with loss of employment. The steward was unused to physical labor and he was too proud to beg. So he devised a scheme whereby he cancelled his exorbitant commission hence reducing the amount owed by the debtors. Thus he ingratiated himself to both debtor and master. Jesus praised the enterprising steward for acting prudently. He was not encouraging dishonesty, but challenging his own disciples to be as resourceful in their pursuit of the kingdom as were those who acted without the light of the Holy Spirit to guide them.
TO LOVE: Am I honest in all my business dealings?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to use my resources for building your kingdom on earth.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Friday 8 November 2019

Day of Penance

Romans 15:14-21. Psalm 97(98):1-4. Luke 16:1-8.

The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power – Psalm 97(98):1-4

‘How much do you owe my master?’

I once heard it said that we would do for money what we would not do for love. It struck me at the time that it is often true. If there is a dollar in it for us, we will often make the extra effort required. Christ’s way is the way of love. As his follower I want to answer his stronger call. I will do for love what is required of me without looking for payment of any sort except the knowledge of walking in the Master’s footsteps.

It is a road less travelled, and I will often find myself at odds with others who walk a different way. I may be misunderstood. I will find security not in insurance policies, not in stocks or shares, but in following ever more closely my companion on the journey, Christ, who walks before me.

www.pray.com.au

Blessed John Duns Scotus

Saint of the Day for November 8

(c. 1266 – November 8, 1308)

 

Detail | Stained glass in Franciscan Convent Chapel in Paris | Saints Bonaventure, John Duns Scotus, Anthony of Padua, and Paschal Baylon | André Pierre and P. Villette | photo by GFreihalter

Blessed John Duns Scotus’ Story

A humble man, John Duns Scotus has been one of the most influential Franciscans through the centuries. Born at Duns in the county of Berwick, Scotland, John was descended from a wealthy farming family. In later years, he was identified as John Duns Scotus to indicate the land of his birth; Scotia is the Latin name for Scotland.

John received the habit of the Friars Minor at Dumfries, where his uncle Elias Duns was superior. After novitiate, John studied at Oxford and Paris and was ordained in 1291. More studies in Paris followed until 1297, when he returned to lecture at Oxford and Cambridge. Four years later, he returned to Paris to teach and complete the requirements for the doctorate.

In an age when many people adopted whole systems of thought without qualification, John pointed out the richness of the Augustinian-Franciscan tradition, appreciated the wisdom of Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Muslim philosophers—and still managed to be an independent thinker. That quality was proven in 1303, when King Philip the Fair tried to enlist the University of Paris on his side in a dispute with Pope Boniface VIII. John Duns Scotus dissented, and was given three days to leave France.

In Scotus’s time, some philosophers held that people are basically determined by forces outside themselves. Free will is an illusion, they argued. An ever-practical man, Scotus said that if he started beating someone who denied free will, the person would immediately tell him to stop. But if Scotus didn’t really have a free will, how could he stop? John had a knack for finding illustrations his students could remember!

After a short stay in Oxford, Scotus returned to Paris, where he received the doctorate in 1305. He continued teaching there and in 1307 so ably defended the Immaculate Conception of Mary that the university officially adopted his position. That same year the minister general assigned him to the Franciscan school in Cologne where John died in 1308. He is buried in the Franciscan church near the famous Cologne cathedral.

Drawing on the work of John Duns Scotus, Pope Pius IX solemnly defined the Immaculate Conception of Mary in 1854. John Duns Scotus, the “Subtle Doctor,” was beatified in 1993.

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Reflection

Father Charles Balic, O.F.M., the foremost 20th-century authority on Scotus, has written: “The whole of Scotus’s theology is dominated by the notion of love. The characteristic note of this love is its absolute freedom. As love becomes more perfect and intense, freedom becomes more noble and integral both in God and in man” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1105).

https://www.franciscanmedia.org

Lectio Divina: Luke 16:1-8

Lectio Divina

Friday, November 8, 2019

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God of power and mercy,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel reading - Luke 16:1-8

Jesus said to His disciples, "There was a rich man and he had a steward who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.’
Then the steward said to himself, ‘Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.’
Then he called his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ‘One hundred measures of oil,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond; sit down and quickly write fifty.’ To another he said, ‘And you, sir, how much do you owe?’ ‘One hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond and write eighty.’

The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness. For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.”

3) Reflection

• Today the Gospel presents a parable that concerns the administration of goods which is found only in Luke’s Gospel. It is called the parable of the dishonest steward. It is a disconcerting parable. Luke says: “The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness”. The master is Jesus Himself and not the administrator or steward. How is that Jesus praises a corrupt employee?
• Luke 16: 1-2: The steward is threatened to lose his job. “There was a rich man and he had a steward, who was denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship, because you are not to be my steward any more”. This example, taken from the world of business and work, speaks for itself. It refers to the existing corruption. The master discovers the corruption and decides to send away the dishonest steward. The steward, unexpectedly finds himself in an emergency situation and is obliged by the unforeseen circumstances to find a way out in order to survive. When God becomes present in the life of a person, everything unexpectedly changes and the person finds himself/herself in an emergency situation. The person has to take a decision and find a way out.
• Luke 16: 3-4: What to do? Which is the way out? “Then the steward said to himself, Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed”. He begins to reflect to find a way out. He analyzes, one by one, the possible alternatives: to dig or work the land in order to survive, he feels that he does not have the strength to do this, and to beg, he would feel ashamed.   Calculating  the possible alternativeshe says, “Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes”. It is a question of trying to guarantee his future. The steward acts consistently with his way of thinking and living.
• Luke 16: 5-7: Execution of the solution he found. “Then he called his master’s debtors, one by one, and said to the first one: How much do you owe my master? One hundred measures of oil, he said. The steward said, ‘Here, take your bond, sit down and quickly write fifty. Then he said to another one, and you, sir, how much do you owe? ‘One hundred measures of wheat’, he answered. The steward said, ‘Here take your bond and write eighty”. In his total lack of ethics the steward was consistent. The criteria of his actions are not honesty and justice, nor the good of the master on whom he depends to live and to survive, but his own interest. He wants to have the guarantee that there will be someone who will receive him in his house.

• Luke 16: 8: The Master praises the dishonest steward. This is the disconcerting conclusion. “The Master praises the dishonest steward for his astuteness: For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light”. The word Master or Lord indicates Jesus and not the rich man. The latter would never praise a dishonest employee working for Him in service, and now he robs even more, with 50 measures of oil and 20 sacks of wheat! In the parable, the one who extends the praise is Jesus. He certainly does not praise the theft but the  spirit of the steward. He knew how to calculate things well and finds a way out when he unexpectedly finds himself without a job. In this way the children of this world know how to be experts in their own things. In the same way, the children of light should learn from them to be experts in the solution to their problems using the criteria of the Kingdom and not the criteria of this world. “Be cunning as serpents and innocent as doves” (Mt 10: 16).

4) Personal questions

• Am I consistent in thought and action?
• Which criteria do I use in the solution of my problems?

5) Concluding prayer

One thing I ask of Yahweh, one thing I seek:
to dwell in Yahweh's house all the days of my life,
to enjoy the sweetness of Yahweh,
to seek out His temple. (Ps 27:4)

www.ocarm.org