READING OF THE DAY A reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos AM 8:4-7
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! "When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating! We will buy the lowly for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!" The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Never will I forget a thing they have done!
A reading from the letter to Timothy 1 TM 2:1-8
Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity. This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time. For this I was appointed preacher and apostle — I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Luke LK 16:1-13
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 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."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER With this teaching, Jesus today urges us to make a clear choice between Him and the worldly spirit, between the logic of corruption, of the abuse of power and greed, and that of righteousness, meekness and sharing. Some people conduct themselves with corruption as they do with drugs: they think they can use it and stop when they want. But when we try to follow the Gospel logic of integrity, clarity in intentions and in behaviour, of fraternity, we become artisans of justice and we open horizons of hope for humanity. In gratuitousness and by giving of ourselves to our brothers and sisters, we serve the right master: God. (Angelus, 18 september 2016)
FAUSTI - The parable of Chapter 15 says how much He who is benevolent to all the wretches and villains does for us. This answers the question: "What shall we do," called to become like Him? The answer is implicit in the two terms used to indicate God and man, called respectively the Lord and the administrator. But man is an unjust steward, because he has mastered what is not his own. But now he knows God: he knows that everything gives and everything forgives. Consequently, he also knows "what to do". To condone what is not really of him. The scene still takes place at that table where Jesus eats with sinners. After revealing the heart of the Father to the "righteous" who criticize Him, He now reveals to the disciples the correct use of the goods of the world. Who knows the judgment of God in Jesus is no longer like the insipid owner, who makes a mistake in knowing "what to do" Enlightened by the wisdom of the Gospel, is like the faithful and wise steward associated with the glory of his Lord. The center of the passage is the praise of the administrator, which results in his exhortation to act like him. The parable also teaches us that material goods must be managed as they are, according to their nature of gift. Luke knows that what we have accumulated is the fruit of injustice; we have not done it properly out of pure love of God and neighbor. He also knows that we continue to live in a world that advances on the same track. In such a situation we are called to live with the opposite criterion to that of selfishness. We have understood "what to do". Goods are a gift from the Father to be shared among our brothers and sisters. This parable disconcerts a little readers and commentators. It seems obscure. In reality it is clear: the Lord praised the wise administrator who began to give, as He blamed the foolishness of the insipid master who continued to accumulate. The story is probably derived from a fact of the news: an administrator, accused for his excessive greed now unsustainable, finds it convenient to start a new type of relationship, that of the gift. He needs it to live when his administration will be finished. This cunning of one of the children of this world, reveals to us the true wisdom that is lacking in the so-called children of light and illustrates the theme of mercy, dear to Luke: to those who forgive, it will be forgiven, to those who give, it will be given. We also know that charity covers a multitude of sins, because whoever gives to the poor, makes a loan to God (Pr 19,17). For this reason "the better it is to give alms than to set aside gold". In fact, "save from death and purify from all sin" (Tb 12:9). Faith in God is played out in fidelity to what He has entrusted to us. There is a false trick that makes us place our trust, rather than in the Creator, in creatures. It is a perversion that makes means the end, and reduces us to serving them instead of using them for us. True cunning is of those who know that everything that is there is a gift from God, and it is a means of entering into communion with the Father and with their brothers and sisters. For this reason, he lives in thanksgiving and in a spirit of sharing. Man's failure consists in loving what is not the object of his heart.
READING OF THE DAY
RispondiEliminaA reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos
AM 8:4-7
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask,
"that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
We will diminish the ephah,
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Never will I forget a thing they have done!
A reading from the letter to Timothy
1 TM 2:1-8
Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke
LK 16:1-13
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 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."
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
With this teaching, Jesus today urges us to make a clear choice between Him and the worldly spirit, between the logic of corruption, of the abuse of power and greed, and that of righteousness, meekness and sharing. Some people conduct themselves with corruption as they do with drugs: they think they can use it and stop when they want. But when we try to follow the Gospel logic of integrity, clarity in intentions and in behaviour, of fraternity, we become artisans of justice and we open horizons of hope for humanity. In gratuitousness and by giving of ourselves to our brothers and sisters, we serve the right master: God. (Angelus, 18 september 2016)
FAUSTI - The parable of Chapter 15 says how much He who is benevolent to all the wretches and villains does for us. This answers the question: "What shall we do," called to become like Him?
RispondiEliminaThe answer is implicit in the two terms used to indicate God and man, called respectively the Lord and the administrator.
But man is an unjust steward, because he has mastered what is not his own.
But now he knows God: he knows that everything gives and everything forgives. Consequently, he also knows "what to do". To condone what is not really of him. The scene still takes place at that table where Jesus eats with sinners. After revealing the heart of the Father to the "righteous" who criticize Him, He now reveals to the disciples the correct use of the goods of the world.
Who knows the judgment of God in Jesus is no longer like the insipid owner, who makes a mistake in knowing "what to do" Enlightened by the wisdom of the Gospel, is like the faithful and wise steward associated with the glory of his Lord. The center of the passage is the praise of the administrator, which results in his exhortation to act like him. The parable also teaches us that material goods must be managed as they are, according to their nature of gift.
Luke knows that what we have accumulated is the fruit of injustice; we have not done it properly out of pure love of God and neighbor.
He also knows that we continue to live in a world that advances on the same track.
In such a situation we are called to live with the opposite criterion to that of selfishness.
We have understood "what to do". Goods are a gift from the Father to be shared among our brothers and sisters.
This parable disconcerts a little readers and commentators. It seems obscure.
In reality it is clear: the Lord praised the wise administrator who began to give, as He blamed the foolishness of the insipid master who continued to accumulate.
The story is probably derived from a fact of the news: an administrator, accused for his excessive greed now unsustainable, finds it convenient to start a new type of relationship, that of the gift.
He needs it to live when his administration will be finished.
This cunning of one of the children of this world, reveals to us the true wisdom that is lacking in the so-called children of light and illustrates the theme of mercy, dear to Luke: to those who forgive, it will be forgiven, to those who give, it will be given. We also know that charity covers a multitude of sins, because whoever gives to the poor, makes a loan to God (Pr 19,17). For this reason "the better it is to give alms than to set aside gold". In fact, "save from death and purify from all sin" (Tb 12:9).
Faith in God is played out in fidelity to what He has entrusted to us.
There is a false trick that makes us place our trust, rather than in the Creator, in creatures.
It is a perversion that makes means the end, and reduces us to serving them instead of using them for us.
True cunning is of those who know that everything that is there is a gift from God, and it is a means of entering into communion with the Father and with their brothers and sisters. For this reason, he lives in thanksgiving and in a spirit of sharing. Man's failure consists in loving what is not the object of his heart.