Luke 19:11-28
While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately.
So he said, "A nobleman 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.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.' He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.' Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.' And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.' Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.' He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.' And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.' He replied, '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. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for the repose of the soul of Rhonda Kristoff.
Today in the Church is the Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Today's reflection comes from www.catholicdoors.com:
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Today's Reading from the Gospel of Luke... speaks of the eternal reward that awaits those who persevere in their living faith. In this holy reading, Jesus used the Parable of the Ten Pounds as the means of emphasizing the importance of bearing fruits in one's life.
One slave received ten pounds. Another received five. And yet another only received one. In other words, one person was blessed with ten talents, the second with five talents and the last with only one talent. By the grace of the Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, the first two enjoyed overwhelming spiritual growth to the extent of becoming more in the likeness of the Lord Jesus. They took every opportunity that were placed before them to grow in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, in "charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity."
The last slave, having only one talent, he had the opportunity to grow in five, ten, fifteen and even twenty talents. What did he do? He buried his talent. He experienced no spiritual growth in his life. He lacked charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, etc... These were not important to him. Consequently, he lost all what he had, that being nothing! As such it will be on Judgment Day when the foolish ones will be condemned for eternity.
Coming back to today's Feast of Mary, in her we see the fruit of her wisdom. Create immaculate through the goodness of the Lord God, the blessed Virgin Mary remained in her pure state until her last breath. Blessed by God, she was given many gifts, including the tender and loving care of the Son of God. Successfully fulfilling her commission, she was blessed even more. By the grace of God, the Virgin Mary was elevated to the title of the Mother of God. The Holy Catholic Church elevated her to the titles of the "Assumption of Mary" and the "Immaculate Conception." These and many more were her rewards for having persevered until the end of her life on earth.
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Take care and God Bless.
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