MEMORIAL OF SAINT MONICA, AUGUST 27, 2022

MASS READINGS

A Gospel according to Mt 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one– to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 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.' 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.' 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.' 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.' 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; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.' 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? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 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. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"

REFLECTION

I remember when I was little and heard this Gospel reading, it didn’t make sense. Then when the priest would give his homily, I would feel a little better, but there were still parts of it that kept lingering in my mind and leave me asking, "what is going on in that Gospel reading?".

I will just take one line from the Gospel reading, "Come, share in your Master's joy." And share an experience of mine.

We are a big volleyball family. I have one boy and three girls and all the girls chose to play volleyball for their sport. The sport has taken us all around the United States in National Qualifier competitions. The girls are doing quite well in the sport.

As a parent, you want to see your child do well and get to play. So many times, there are girls that do not get to play, no matter how good they are. It is at the coaches discretion as to who plays. We know the coach wants to win, so we should just trust that it will be good. Well, when it is your child that does not get to play in a game, that is when it becomes very hard. You wonder why they are not getting to use their talents to help the team and then when the team does well without her, how do you share in the joy of the whole team.

This was a very good lesson I learned this past year. I learned how to share in the joy of the team even when my daughter would not get to play. She actually helped me to learn this lesson, she just liked being a part of the team and knew that the other girls were good too. Even if it meant that she didn't get to play. I learned that my focus was not on Jesus. If I keep my focus on the prize that really matters, it is easier to share in the Masters joy. Focus on Jesus and everything will fall into place.

God bless us all.