Meditation is an ideal way to pray. Using God's word (Lectio Divina) allows me to hear, listen and reflect on what the Lord wants to say to me - to one of his disciples - just like He did two thousand years ago.
The best time to reflect is at the beginning of the day and for at least 15 to 30 minutes.
Prior to going to sleep, read the Mass readings for the next day and then, in the morning, reflect on the Meditation offered on this website.
I hope these daily meditations allow you to know, love and imitate the Lord in a more meaningful way.
God bless you!


Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Luke 19:11-28 Faith, A Small Gold Coin


Luke 19:11-28  Faith, A Small Gold Coin


Jesus said to the people:  “I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

As the Lord approached Jerusalem, the people began to think that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately.  So what did the Lord do?  He told them a parable, a parable about a nobleman who “went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return.  He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’”

The Kingdom of God is not about to appear.  On the contrary, it’s about to disappear. 

Yes, Christ will be departing very soon.  But he is promising to return.  In the meantime, he has given his servants something to do:  Trade.  That is, to give what they have received; to give more so that they can receive even more.    To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

What must I do?  What can I do? 

Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.  The fact that we can even ask these questions is something that is very unique to man.  Only man is expected to accomplish something.  No animal is expected to accomplish anything, except to be itself.  But with man, life is not so simple. We are not just expected to do something; we are expected to do what is right, good and holy.  We are expected not to do what is easy or what makes us feel good, but to do what is right and to be good.  And since we can choose not to, we can sin.  We can choose not to be right with our self. 

What can I do?   I can do something that no other creature can do:  I can worship the Lord.  No other creature can raise their heads to give thanks and praise to God.  No other creature on earth can acknowledge the Lord’s presence.  It’s not their fault.  Actually, it’s not a fault.  All creatures on earth were created by God to help us acknowledge and marvel God’s love and creation.  But as easily as I can give thanks to God, I can also reject him, and all with the same small coin.  With my hands I can build or I can destroy.  With my tongue I can give praise to God or I can reject him.  With my heart I can forgive sins or I can hold on to them till the bitter end.   

What can I do?  I can build.  And since I can build, I can also build upon what I have received.  An animal will take what it has received and keep it.  For example, bees build their hives in the exact same way they have built them for millennium.  Beavers build damns the exact same way their ancestors built them.  Birds build their nests using the same raw materials.  Nothing has changed.  Nothing is expected to change.  No credit is given to the past.  One small gold coin was given and returned.

Now we have received one small coin as well, but it is not our hands or our feet or our mind, it is our faith.  Only man can believe.  And since only man can believe, only we can build what has never been seen before.  With the eyes of faith only we can worship what eye has not seen or ear has not heard.  With faith, only we can make life more romantic and more dramatic than sinful or prideful man has ever experienced before.  With faith, we can build something beautiful and everlasting.     

Faith is that small gold coin that should never be hidden.  It must be shared with others.  And the more I give, the more I receive.  Faith in God yields high returns for man.  We all benefit.  Those who believe in God invest in man.  They never give up.  They lay it all down.    

2 comments:

  1. Today, as I was sitting in class, my professor asked the class about future, and what are some of our short term goals, and some of our long term goals. She made us do an exercise to help us think further. She wrote up on the board, “In the year 2022, ten years from now, what will I give ten years of my life to?” we all wrote down our age with some reluctance. Then she wrote “I am proud of?...?” and we privately filled in the blanks with some of our ambitions or what we would be proud of ourselves for in the years to come. She then wrote about our “quality world” and who we want to influence us in the next ten years. Some examples were, “I want to be around funny, hopeful, successful, wealthy people.” etc. I then blurted out, “how about holy people?” one girl from the back of the class, said, “holy?” I do not think she knew what that word meant. The boy next to me, who by the way hardly ever smiles, is a hard worker and I am sure a good student, but does not seem to be a very happy person. When I mentioned I wanted to be around holy people, he shook his head like, “what in the world is this looney talking about?, holy? You got to be kidding me.” And I just thought to myself how sad…what lack of faith, what secularism. Who would NOT want to surround themselves with holy, people? Isn’t our main goal in this life is to become holy? And to be saints? Well, I think it should be. Most of my class from just the mention of the word “holy”, did not seem to grasp that concept. From listening to my fellow peers, at college and really all around me, they all have their eyes on the wrong prize. And most of their goals are not leading them to heaven. Sure, everyone wants to look their best and to BE the best that they can be. But to set the bar high, as in to attain holiness takes guts and fortitude.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Happy Thanksgiving from our Family :) to Father Alfonse and YOUR Family TOO :))!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

Updated: Comments that are judged to be defamatory, abusive or in bad taste are not acceptable and contributors who consistently fall below certain criteria will be permanently blacklisted. Comments must be concise and to the point.Comments are no longer accepted for posts older than 7 days.