Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
10 November 2020
'The Lord will come like a thief in the night.' Sunday Reflections, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), ending
For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1Thess 5:2). [Second Reading]
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelMatthew 25:14-30 or 25:14-15, 19-21 [Omit] (English Standard Version Anglicised)
Jesus told his disciples
this parable:
“For it will
be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and
entrusted to them his property.To one he gave five talents, to another two,
to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.[He who had received the five talents
went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.So also he who had the two talents made two talents more.But he who had received the one talent went and dug
in the ground and hid his master's money.]Now after
a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with
them.And he who had received the five talents came forward,
bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents;
here I have made five talents more.’His master said to him, ‘Well done, good
and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I
will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’[And he also who had the two talents
came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have
made two talents more.’His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter
into the joy of your master.’He also who had received the one talent came forward,
saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did
not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed,so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the
ground. Here you have what is yours.’But his master answered him, ‘You wicked
and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and
gather where I scattered no seed?Then you ought to have invested my money with the
bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.So take the talent from him and give it to him who has
the ten talents.For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will
have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken
away.And cast the worthless servant into the outer
darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”]
There was real sorrow throughout the Philippines when news broke that the small plane in which Jesse Robredo, Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the administration of President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines had crashed offshore while trying to make and emergency landing on Masbate Island. Secretary Robredo had been on official business in Cebu but wanted to be present at a swimming competition in which his daughter was taking part in their home town, Naga City in the heart of the Bicol Region at the southern end of Luzon. So he hired a small plane to fly from Cebu to Naga City.
During his six terms as elected Mayor of Naga City Jesse Robredo was noted for being close to ordinary people and for working for the improvement of the lives of all Nagueños. He saw his role as one of service.
Shortly after the Secretary's death Fr Lucio Rosaroso, a chaplain to the Philippine National Police (PNP), spoke in a homily at a Mass for the soul of Jesse Robredo of the sense of service that he had: Service is a time-honored value, however, the span of time in service does not matter — it may be long or short. What is more important is how much love one puts into his or her service.
The late Secretary Robredo, though his service to our country was cut short due to his untimely demise, but that is not what matters. What matters most is the LOVE that he put into his service. By that he gives us the best example of servant-leadership, he stressed.
Fr Rosaroso continued: Robredo’s heart was after the heart of the Good Shepherd. He was not only a good public servant but first and foremost a father to his very own family.
I remember reading at the time of his death that Jesse Robredo, who was based in Manila during his time as Secretary of the DILG, made a point of going home each weekend to Naga City to be with his family. By air this takes about 45 minutes but by road maybe six or seven hours, as I recall from going there from Manila a number of times in the 1990s when I was a vocation director of the Columbans. It's never easy for a politician or someone in public service to balance family life with public responsibilities. But Jesse Robredo made his wife Leni, now Vice President of the Philippines, and three daughters a priority.
The shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia is in Naga City.
I remember reading too that the day before his death Jesse Robredo went to confession at a church run by the Divine Word Missionaries in Quezon City, the largest component in area and size in Metro Manila. Fr Rosarosa of the PNP in his homily testified to the fact the DILG Secretary confessed regularly: The late secretary used to come here in Crame Church. In fact, every week he would go to confession. We are six priests here in Camp Crame and each one of us experienced being asked by the late secretary to administer to him the Sacrament of Reconciliation from time to time. He really believed in the sanctifying graces of the sacraments. He was a practicing and devout Catholic. He was a holy man in our midst!
Jesse Robredo's confession the day before he died is a powerful example of what St Paul speaks about in today's Second Reading: For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night . . . But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief (1 Thess 5:1-6).
The shorter version of the Gospel has a specific focus: You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. Because President Aquino saw how well Jesse Robredo had managed Naga City he made him responsible for local government throughout the Philippines.
The longer version shows how harshly the master dealt with the servant who simply buried what had been given to him. The investigation into the accident that killed Jesse Robredo suggests that three people lost their lives because others had not been faithful over a little.
The parable of the talents reminds us that whatever gifts God has given each of are not just for ourselves but are meant to be used in the service of others. What we do with them has consequences in the lives of others. Jesse Robredo, whose Catholic faith was at the centre of his life, used his talents in serving the people of Naga City from the time he was elected Mayor at the age of 29 and later in serving the people of the Philippines. He gave his wife and children first priority. The reason for his wanting to fly from Cebu to Naga, a journey that ended in his death, is a testimony to this.
The failure of some to use their talents, to carry out the responsibilities they were given, led to unnecessary deaths.
When the Lord will come like a thief in the night which words do we wish to hear from him: And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. - harsh words that call us to be responsible for what God has given us - or you have been faithful over a little . . .enter into the joy of your master?
Antiphona ad communionem Communion Antiphon Mk 11:23-24
Amen dico vobis, quidquid orantes petitis,
credite quia accepietis, et fiet vobis.
Amen, I say to you, Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive, and it shall be given to you, says the Lord.
Extraordinary Form of the Mass
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
This Sunday, 15 November, the Sixth Sunday remaining after Epiphany is observed in the calendar that uses the TLM.
The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 11-15-2020, if necessary).
Epistle: 1Thessalonians 1:2-10.Gospel: Matthew 13:31-33.
Authentic Beauty
Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.
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