Friday, November 14, 2014

Whose Got Talent?

Dear Parishioners,

After two weeks in the hospital, it is so good to be home. Thanks so much for your prayers and “get well” cards. They helped so much. My experience reminded me just how fragile life can be. One little spider bite led to cellulitis and then a very bad staph infection. Thanks to the doctors and nurses at St. Agnes Hospital, I am on the road to recovery and back home.

Today’s gospel used to be called the parable of the talents, because the original Greek says the master gave his servants five talents, three talents, and one talent respectively (Matthew 25:14-30). It says nothing about silver. A talent was a measure of weight that gradually became a measure of gold exchange and could weigh between 58 and 80 pounds. One talent of silver or gold would have been a very large amount of money. Three or five talents would have been a huge sum and a very generous loan from the man to his servants.

We are God’s servants, and he has been extremely generous to us, giving us many gifts and talents. Very often we take these gifts for granted—good health, food, clothing, shelter, family, friends, money, employment, etc. The question posed to us by the gospel is, “Are we using these talents for the good of God and the world or not?”

- Father Carl

“There is not a single creature which does not
provide us with the means of reaching God.
If any of them become an obstacle, it is only
by our misuse of them.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars