Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
September 18, 2016
Gospel: Lk 16:1-13
Jesus said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward (1)
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 the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One
hundred kors of wheat.’ The steward 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 are the children of light. I tell you, make
friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will
be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small
matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in
very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not
trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you
are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is
yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the
other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God
and mammon (2).”
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The difficult words
(1)A steward is like a manager; who is put in
charge of the owner's goods, business, and property.
(2)Mammon is wealth and greediness.
This week’s spotlight
Alms
Alms are a sum of money that one gives to the poor.
One can also give this money to an association that helps persons who are in
difficult circumstances. To give alms is to take care of those who are in need
because they are our brothers and sisters. Just as Christ has asked us to do,
we give with all our love.
The collection
Each Sunday, a collection is taken up at Mass.
Christians place money into the basket as it is passed around. Then the baskets
are emptied into one big basket, which is presented to God along with the bread
and wine. The money is used to keep the church building in good repair, to
provide for the needs of the priests, to pay for supplies and workers in the
parish, and to help the very poor.
Reflection
God or money?
Perhaps your parents have begun to give
you pocket money or maybe you’re earning it by performing small chores. If you
have a little bit of money in your possession, what are you going to do with
it? Are you going to guard it carefully in your piggy bank, or are you going to
hurry up and spend it? And what are you going to buy?
This Sunday’s parable talks to us about
being careful and wise when it comes to money. Does this mean that you have to
check your piggy bank every morning to see if the money you had the day before
is still there? No, money is meant to serve, and not to be admired. The money
we have can even help us serve God. Whenever we make an effort to share with
the poor or with those who don’t have as much as we do, we grow closer to the
Lord. Jesus shows us the true riches: to love and to be loved.
Discussion questions
1.How does Jesus tell his followers to be faithful?
2.What lesson does Jesus teach with the story about the dishonest
manager?
3.What does Jesus tell his followers about God and wealth?
4.What gifts has God given you?
5.How do you use your gifts?
6.How can you choose God over money or things?
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in
communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. Your
love is my treasure, more precious than gold. Help me to remember that loving
people is more important than having things.
This week…
Earn some money for yourself
Begin by looking for little
things to do that will allow you to earn some pocket money. You can ask your
parents or your grandparents if there is some job you could do for them.
Use your money wisely
Then, find out from your parents,
your catechism class, or your school if there are organizations in your area
that do things to help the poor. You can show your love for God and for those
in need by donating all or a part of your earnings to one of these
organizations.
Cloze Puzzle
Source: usccb.org
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