Memory of the Saints and the Prophets

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Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

Luke 12,39-48

You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.' Peter said, 'Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?' The Lord replied, 'Who, then, is the wise and trustworthy steward whom the master will place over his household to give them at the proper time their allowance of food? Blessed that servant if his master's arrival finds him doing exactly that. I tell you truly, he will put him in charge of everything that he owns. But if the servant says to himself, "My master is taking his time coming," and sets about beating the menservants and the servant-girls, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful. 'The servant who knows what his master wants, but has got nothing ready and done nothing in accord with those wishes, will be given a great many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but has acted in such a way that he deserves a beating, will be given fewer strokes. When someone is given a great deal, a great deal will be demanded of that person; when someone is entrusted with a great deal, of that person even more will be expected.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

"But know this" says Jesus: disciples must never stop listening to and understanding their Teacher. Prayer itself is this understanding of the heart of Jesus' words. In truth Jesus, in speaking of the distracted master or the violent administrator, describes situations that are quite frequent even today. The innumerable little injustices and the thousand little daily wicked actions, which make life difficult for so many, arise from the same attitude of the violent manager of the parable. Many, unfortunately, behave like little masters of the lives of others, convinced that they do not have to account to anyone. Jesus invites us to be awake and to behave like an honest servant: "Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives." Those who are awake are those for whom life does not end with the limits of their own interests, with what they can or cannot do, or with the limits established by their own thoughts, body, and feelings. Jesus' disciples are invited to nourish themselves every day with industrious waiting and laborious hope for God's future. The life of each one is a gift, it is a talent of which account will be asked, as it is written: "From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required." Much has been given to Christians: we have received as a gift the Church as a mother and a teacher, as a family where every day the Lord nourishes us, makes us live, and communicates his Spirit to us. The gift is both a grace and a responsibility. For this reason "from one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded." Thinking about vigilance, many saints said: "I must live every day as if it were the last one." If we all lived every day as if it were the last, our lives would have a different tone, they would be much more human and beautiful, fuller, and richer, more true, less bored, less desperate. In short, there would be more life.