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September 22, 2019

Dear Believers in the Christ,

All of life is a gift. This reality is difficult to acknowledge on many days. We all struggle to survive. We work to make sure our children have what they need and that our aging parents are comfortable. When we are stressed, we may think the entire world rests upon our shoulders. We then carry the heavy burden of other people, losing sight that all is gift to us while we are here on earth.

I love watching families interact with their children. I can see all the subtleties of love and misunderstandings, of control and compassion, of stress and sheer enjoyment. With every person comes a different personality in how we live and what we think is important in life.

From today’s gospel, Luke 16:1-13, we are given once again an opportunity to reflect upon our stewardship. Good stewardship of the gifts of the earth will lead us into becoming stewards of God’s presence in the world. We are stewards of earth and of heaven. So how can we reflect on what is given to us by God?

This first place we need to look is toward the people we love. God enjoins to us real relationships. He is offering us life and the ability to be in right relationship. God is the source of all life and all life is vital to God. I invite you to take stock of your relationships. How is God calling you into caring for those you love and but smothering them with control? How is God allowing you to live in freedom with fidelity toward people who care for you?

Our stewardship from God then reaches far and wide. We are stewards of the earth, the food we raise and the care of our natural resources. The earth is a God-given gift and our challenge is to live upon this planet caring for it for the next generations. How can be better the soil, the air, and the resources for our children and our children’s children?

We are also caretakers of human life. All life is of God. So we stand among people to help them keep their children from womb and beyond. We rush to hospitals and jail cells, from homeless shelters to school cafeterias all because we believe that life has value and that all life has meaning. We work to dismantle racism because of the true value of all human life. We work in the center of all injustice because we must rely on God to show us how incredibly beautiful life is meant to be on earth.

As Christians, we are stewards of the many gifts on earth. We do so because God has entrusted all aspects of life to us. We are caretakers so that God will show us the value of the Kingdom, where we know we shall find our place and our ultimate home.

Our true wealth is in God. May we search our hearts to protect all matters of life on earth. We cannot serve both God and mammon.

May peace flow on earth,

Fr. Ron