Words of Wisdom from Fr. Rich...aka "The Rockstar Priest"

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Given all of the financial woes we face today, it is
tempting to read today’s Gospel – the parable of the tal-
ents – only from an economic point of view. Jesus tells
a story of a master who puts his servants in charge of
unbelievable sums of money; two of the servants invest
it and make great windfalls, one buries the money in the
ground. Maybe Jesus is giving us sound advice on how
to invest our money. I doubt it. Jesus rarely gives finan-
cial advice.
Nor do I think the parable is simply about using the
talents God gives us. The parable uses the word talent
which throws us off. Originally, talent did not mean “a
person’s special gifts or abilities.” It was the greatest,
most fantastic measurement of money. It might translate
today as “gabillions.”
God gives us gabillions of love and mercy, gabillions
of compassion, justice and peace. God gives us gabil-
lions of gifts of the Holy Spirit.
As a church, as a community of disciples, what are
we doing with the gabillions of love God has freely given
to us? Do we take a risk and invest it? How? In whom?
Where? Or do we bury it, hide it, keep it to ourselves?
Big institutions, big corporations tend to be fright-
ened of innovation, of taking bold risks. GM is paying
dearly for its fear.
The Church is a community of believers in Christ Je-
sus who conquered sin and death. We should have
nothing to fear.
When we meet our Lord and Savior in heaven, what
if He says, “I gave you all that gabillions of love. What
did you do with it?” What will we say?
Peace!
Fr. Rich