A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT
A thought or two on stewardship in the Sunday readings
 
Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Weekend of September 6/7, 2014
In Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans he suggests that God lavishes his love upon us through Jesus Christ, who calls us to the kind of loving relationship, if we so choose it, that demands accountability. It is like, in Saint Paul’s vocabulary, a kind of “debt” that we can never “pay-in-full.” But we begin to repay by following the direction of one of the most familiar statements in the Bible: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Good stewards realize that God does not call them just to love those who are easy to love, but to love the unloved and the hard-to-love people in this world as well. This week, remind yourself: “I am put here as an ambassador of God’s love.”
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross September 13/14, 2014
Today’s second reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Christian community at Philippi offers that beautiful testimony of Christ Jesus who loved us enough to give up his life for us by death on a cross. There is great hope in the cross, yet very few of us will be called to die the way Jesus died. Saint Paul helps us understand that to be authentic stewards of our faith we must be willing to lay down our lives for Jesus. To be faithful to the Gospel is to be willing to take up our cross daily and follow him. In that way we will find our dying and our rising equally assured. Reflect this week on how you embrace the cross, and how you, at times, shirk the cross in your daily life.
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Weekend of September 20/21, 2014
From an early age, we tend to distort the concept of “fairness”: “I am good. I deserve good things. I am not receiving good things. Something must be wrong. Who’s going to fix it?” We also know the age-old expression: “Who ever said life was fair?” Jesus knew this expression when he offered his parable in today’s Gospel reading. Christian stewards acknowledge, with humility, that they receive good things from the Lord in abundance; even if these gifts are not the ones they think they need when they need them. Consider which servants you identify with most in the Gospel reading, the ones who demand “fairness”, or that final servant who, seemingly, deserves the least.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Weekend of September 27/28 2014
Saint Augustine, a doctor of the church, once wrote that the first, second, and third most important attitude in Christianity is humility. In today’s second reading, Saint Paul is concerned with how we conduct ourselves in our community of faith. He urges us to let our conduct be worthy of the Gospel we say that we believe; and that it all begins with humility. He asks us to consider others better than ourselves, and to serve them by looking out for their best interest, not ours. Consider how Saint Paul’s appeal to imitating Christ’s humility can enhance your relationships.
 
 
 
 
UN MOMENTO DE CORRESPONSABILIDAD
Algunos pensamientos sobre corresponsabilidad en las lecturas del domingo
 
Vigésimo Tercer Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario Fin de Semana del 6/7 de Septiembre de 2014
 
En la carta de San Pablo a los Romanos, él indica que Dios prodiga su amor sobre nosotros a través de Jesucristo, quien nos llama a un sentido de relación amorosa, si nosotros así lo elegimos, que nos demanda responsabilidad. Esto, en el vocabulario de San Pablo, es como una especie de “deuda” que nosotros nunca podremos “pagar en su totalidad.” Sin embargo nosotros empezamos a pagar siguiendo la guía de una de las declaraciones más familiares en la Biblia: “Ama a tu prójimo como a ti mismo.” Los buenos corresponsables están conscientes de que Dios no les llama a amar sólo a quienes es fácil, sino a amar a los no amados y también a la gente a quien es difícil amar en este mundo. Esta semana, recuerde: “Fui puesto aquí como embajador del amor de Dios.”
Fiesta de la Adoración de la Santa Cruz Fin de Semana del 13/14 de Septiembre de 2014
 
La segunda lectura de hoy de la carta de San Pablo a la comunidad cristiana de Filipo presenta ese hermoso testimonio de Cristo Jesús quien nos amó lo suficiente para renunciar a su vida por nosotros mediante la muerte en una cruz. Hay una gran esperanza en la cruz, aunque muy pocos de nosotros serán llamados a morir de la misma manera en la que Jesús murió. San Pablo nos ayuda a entender que para ser auténticos corresponsables de nuestra fe, todos nosotros debemos poner de lado nuestras vidas por Jesús. Si nosotros queremos ser fieles al evangelio debemos tomar diariamente nuestra cruz y seguir a Jesús. De esta manera nosotros encontraremos nuestra muerte y nuestra resurrección aseguradas igualmente. Pero, si nosotros evadimos la cruz, nuestra esperanza también se irá. Reflexione esta semana sobre cómo abraza usted la cruz, y cómo la evita en su vida diaria.
Vigésimo Quinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario Fin de Semana del 20/21 de Septiembre de 2014