MEMORIAL ST LEO THE GREAT FRIDAY OF THE THIRTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, NOVEMBER 10, 2023

MASS READINGS:

Gospel Lk 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."

REFLECTION

'What is this I hear about you?

In today's Gospel, Our Lord speaks about the unjust steward. After being fired by the master, the unjust steward makes friends with the master's debtors by decreasing their debts. At the end, the master praises the dishonest steward. The master is not praising the steward's dishonest action, but rather the prudence or cleverness of his plan to provide for himself.

Then Our Lord tells us the lesson of the story, saying; "The children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than the children of light." The children of this world are very wise and eager in providing for the worldly matters of their future. However, the children of light sometimes neglect providing for their future regarding heavenly things.

Let us, then, see things from the light of Faith. What matters most is to seek to please God. This can be in the form of offering your day to God, or doing acts of service or praying for those in need. These actions done out of love for God will go with us after this life and be eternal. "Store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be". (Matthew 6:20-21)