Dear Friends:

Throughout the year the gospels of our Sundays were invitations and challenges. Last Sunday, the parable of the ‘wise and foolish virgins told us of the ‘wedding Feast’ to which we are invited and the “be bridegroom” who calls us into loving togetherness; but the parable was also a challenge and reminder to be prepared and ready for Him the Lord. Today’s parable of the talents invites s to accept the Lord’s gifts and charisms, but it also speaks of the consequences if we squander these gifts and abuse them.

The talents of our own community are many, we are constantly surprised about the variety and multitude of the Lord’s gifts for building up the Body of Christ, for the gift of prayer; the gift of sharing our faith; the gift of continual learning; the gift of mutual support; and the gift of outreach. These five gifts are hallmarks of every Christian community. The Lord calls us to strengthen and reaffirm our basic commitments and to set our goals; and he calls us through the signs of our times in new ways through unexpected graces. This should be a time for us to assess our Christian lives in terms of the Body of Christ in need of our talents and gifts.

“Live in me and let me live in you, says the Lord;
My branches bear much fruit. Alleluia”