Gospel Meditations

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

First Reading:	Isaiah 25:6-10a
Second Reading:	Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
Gospel:	Matthew 22.1-14 – The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

 

Count Your Blessings

A steward is one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, develops those gifts responsibly, shares those gifts lovingly in justice with others, and makes a return with interest to the Lord. As stewards we are called to be grateful disciples of Christ. Gratitude is at the very core of what it means to be a steward.

Cardinal Collins in his Pastoral Letter on Stewardship* says that “the deepening of the ‘attitude of gratitude’ will enhance our commitment to prayer and Eucharistic adoration, to the flourishing of lay engagement in the mission of evangelization, to an increase in the response to the call to the priesthood and religious life, to a courageous and effective dedication to social justice, and so on.” Essentially, it all begins with growing in gratitude.

One practice that is often recommended to children is to “count your blessings.” There is great spiritual fruit to be discovered through this practice, even as adults. Often times we place greater weight on the few negative things in our lives rather than focusing on the hundreds of blessings. Let us intentionally set aside a few minutes this weekend to concretely identify all of the blessings the Lord has bestowed on us this past year. We can then begin to move from gratitude to generosity by offering up these blessings to our parish community.

Summary

Gratitude is at the very core of what it means to be a steward. Cardinal Collins says that “the deepening of the ‘attitude of gratitude’ will enhance our commitment to prayer and Eucharistic adoration, to the flourishing of lay engagement in the mission of evangelization, to an increase in the response to the call to the priesthood and religious life, to a courageous and effective dedication to social justice, and so on.” Let us take some time to concretely identify all of the blessings the Lord has bestowed on us this past year.