Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues
LK 12:39-48
“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?” And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and prudent manager whom his master will put in charge of his slaves, to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.
But if that slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed in coming,’ and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful. That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating.
From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Am I Prepared?
If Jesus were to come right now and call me from this life to be with him forever in his kingdom, would I be ready? Would I be prepared? Is my heart open to receive Jesus? Is my heart open to surprise and the unexpected?
The First Principle and Foundation of Jesuit spirituality states that our sole focus is to be with God in love and to respond in kind.
In my day-to-day busy life, with my seemingly important tasks and goals, am I appropriately focused?
What does being focused on Jesus and his love entail for me in my daily actions and interactions?
Am I using the gifts that God has given me to do his will? To love him more deeply by loving all my neighbors in a deeper, reconciling, unconditional way…
—Dr. Sajit U. Kabadi is the Assistant Principal for Mission, Ministry, and Diversity at Regis Jesuit High School in Colorado.
Prayer
The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God’s life to flow into us without limit. All the things in this world are gifts of God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily. As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal.
In everyday life, then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation. We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to God’s deepening his life in me.
—First Principle and Foundation, translated by David Fleming