Faith filled catholic

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
August 7, 2022

Jesus tells his disciples that the more they are entrusted with, the more will be demanded of them. We have probably realized this principle when it comes to  expectations at work, at school, and at home. What are our responsibilities as a faith-filled Catholic? What is demanded of us? We were entrusted in baptism with our faith. This precious gift may have been handed down to us by our   parents or another family member or close friend, who   received it in turn in a line going all the way back to Abraham and Sarah, our forebears in faith. We give witness to our faith as Jesus’ disciples, spreading the good news in all that we say and do.  We spend much of our lives waiting: waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting for a show to begin, waiting for a loved one to arrive. Each of these examples of waiting has a focus, however, a reason to justify our patience. The faithful servants in today’s Gospel have a focus as well: the master’s return. This gives the wait meaning, a purpose. We may not know when our loved one will arrive or when the show will begin, and we may slowly grow impatient while we wait, but when we focus on the object of our expectation, we find it easier. It is a mistake to think that we wait for Jesus in the same way we wait for  anything else in life, for Jesus is already present with us as we wait. Jesus arrives for us every day of our lives. He often comes in the person of someone in need, for as he told his disciples, whenever we serve the least among us we serve him. A vigilant servant, therefore, is already serving our Lord in each other. Jesus also arrives in those moments of grace, when we need the support of the One who told his disciples that his yoke is easy and his burden light. Here and now, Jesus arrives in the Eucharist, in this “wedding feast” in which he offers his own body to nourish and save us. Amen. (Casey, Most Reverend Robert G. Pastoral Patterns. World Library  Publication, 2022)