Investment Opportunities for Eternity

This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable.  It has not been verified by the author. 

“The Master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”  This parable can seem shocking, for the master praising his dishonest steward. He says, for acting prudently. There are other words that you could use than prudently – for acting fraudulently, you could say.  So. it’s an unusual parable, kind of a shocking parable, but the Lord is using very human worldly language and logic to speak to us, who are often thinking in a very worldly way. And so, let’s reflect a little bit on this parable. But I want some help for reflecting on this parable. You know, there’s been a lot of presentations, human presentations; since the gospel is kind of short because, you know, especially in those days, it was very expensive; you know, actually they didn’t, at one point, they didn’t have books, so they had to write things on scrolls, and that took a long time. It was very expensive, so people couldn’t carry around very much and couldn’t afford very much. So, the Gospels are pretty short. And so, we’ve always wanted to know more about it. And you know, there’s like right now, there’s “The Chosen” , that series “The Chosen,” which is very popular with a lot of people, I think that Mormons who are producing it, but it’s, it gives, kind of like a human presentation on that, to fill out things in the gospel and interpret things. And there’s been a number of others, like also, I think that “Jesus Christ, Superstar” is being reproduced now. And there was the movie, well, a series called “Jesus of Nazareth” that came out, I think, in the 70s. And by, I think Zeffirelli and those like Godspell in the way back, I guess, in the 70s and more recently, for instance, there’s been the Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” focusing just on the passion of the Lord. And I think that was one of the best of all of these, most faithful. Because the danger with all of these is that they, by presenting, they have to use, a lot of times, their own ideas, their own imagination, what it seems to them to fill in the Gospel. And so a lot of times, without realizing it, they’re actually distorting, because Jesus is unique. There’s never been another example of a God come down to earth and become man. So, it’s very hard for us to know exactly how things work, and so oftentimes in these presentations that the image of Jesus is unwillingly distorted. Sister got a message just last month, on August 22 and at one point it said, “My little ones, the image of My Son has become distorted by misconceptions, lacks of faith, diabolical manipulations and differences in hatred. That is why you need My help in order for His true face, heart, gaze and voice to be restored in your soul and in your mind.” So, saying that we need God’s help to truly understand who Jesus really is. And for me, one of the very best helps for understanding our Lord and His gospel. I’ve often made reference to this, is the works of the Italian mystic Maria Valtorta; Valtorta; that’s V, A, L, T, O, R, T, A, Maria Valtorta. I don’t know of anything that’s been as helpful for me to understand the gospel as that work. And Mother Teresa, St. Teresa of Calcutta, her spiritual director, said when she traveled, she traveled with the – has three books, the Bible, her Liturgy of the Hours, and this book of Maria Valtorta. Its title is ‘The Gospel as it Was Revealed to Me,’ or its former title was ‘The Poem of the Man God.’ And she presents it, and I believe it is, because it’s always these things, always somewhat controversial, but she presents it as not her ideas, but revelations that the Lord is giving her. And I think there’s a lot of evidence that is, I think if you just look at the evidence, it’s much easier to explain it as something revealed by God than as something that she and her circumstances could have come up with. And you know, there were two women who I’ve spoken about this a lot, two women – and when I was in Monterey 30 years ago, two women who came to me that the Lord is asking me to be their spiritual director because they were receiving prophetic messages or prophetic locutions from the Lord. And one of the things that they mentioned, one of the things they said, was that the Lord had recommended to them precisely this work of Maria Valtorta, recommended very highly. In fact, he even said that there would be a lot of healing graces, interior and even physical graces that would come from the reading of this work of Maria Valtorta, and now it’s even available as an audio book, so that that’s a way I often like to listen to it as an audio. But so, I wanted to read to you a passage that it has, particularly on the gospel today. And so, I won’t read the whole thing, but it shows that Jesus is speaking to a large crowd. He’s outdoors, and this large crowd, and there’s also some Pharisees and other Jewish groups who are there. So, here’s what it says. “He begins to speak. It would be lovely if man were as perfect as the Father in Heaven wants him. Perfect in every thought, affection and deed. But man does not know how to be perfect and misuses the gifts of God, who has given freedom of action to man, ordering however good things, advising perfect things, so that man may not say, I did not know. But what use does man make of the freedom given to him by God? The greatest part of men use it as a child would or as a fool. The rest use it as criminals. Then death comes and man is subject to the judge who asks severely, how did you use or misuse what I gave you? A dreadful question, how less worthy than dust will then look the goods of the earth for which man so often becomes a sinner. Poor and eternal misery, divested of a garment that nothing can replace, he will stand dejected and trembling before the majesty of the Lord, and He will find no word to justify himself. Because it is easy to justify oneself, deceiving poor men, but that cannot happen in heaven. God cannot be deceived, ever, and God does not resort to any compromise, ever. Now then, what can be done? How can man make everything be of use to his salvation, even including what has originated from corruption, which taught men to use metals and gems as instruments of wealth and foster their eager desire for power and pleasure of the flesh. So will man who, however poor he may be, can always sin by desiring immoderately gold, women, positions of power and prestige, and at times he becomes the thief of such things to have what rich people have. So will man, rich or poor as he may be, never be able to save himself? Of course, he will. How? By exploiting wealth on behalf of good or exploiting misery on behalf of good.” So, we can use either the goods that God has given us or the lacks, both of those can be used for good. “The poor man, who is not envious, who does not curse, who does not attempt to take what belongs to other people, but is happy with what he has exploits his humble condition in order to achieve future holiness. And in actual fact, most poor people know how to do that. But the rich are not so capable; as wealth is a continuous trap, set by satan of the triple concupiscence. But listen to a parable, and you will see that the rich also can save themselves, although they are rich, or they can make amends for their past wrongs by making good use of their riches, even if they were unjustly obtained. Because God, the most good God, always grants many means to His children so that they may save themselves. So, there was a rich man who had a steward, some enemies of the latter, who were envious of the good position he had, or because they were very friendly with the rich man, and therefore, mind me, of his wealth, ccused the steward, saying to the master, he squanders your wealth, he embezzles your goods, or he does not make them yield any fruit. Be careful. Defend yourself. The rich man, after hearing such repeated accusations, summoned the steward, and he said to him, I have been told such and such, why have you done that? Give me an account of your stewardship, because I will not allow you to keep it any longer. I cannot trust you, and I cannot give a bad example of tolerating injustice in my servants, which would induce the other servants to act as you did. Go and come back tomorrow with your documents that I may examine them and ascertain the situation of my property before handing it to another steward. So, he dismissed the steward, who went away and began to worry, saying to himself, ‘and now what am I going to do that the master is taking the stewardship from me. I have no savings because I was sure that I would get away with it. I spent in enjoyment everything I usurped. And I don’t feel like working as a peasant subject to other people. I’m no longer used to digging, and I’ve grown heavier with orgies, but I dislike begging even more. It’s too humiliating. What shall I do?’ He thought it over and over and again, he found a way out from his painful situation. He said, I have found it as I secured a pleasant life for myself so far, in the same way, I will make sure that my friends will offer me hospitality out of gratitude when I am dismissed from my office, he who does good always has friends. Let us go therefore and help people in order to be helped and let us go at once before the news spreads and it is too late. So, he went to the various debtors of his master, and he said to the first one, ‘how much do you owe my master for the money that he lent you three years ago in springtime.’ And the debtor replied, ‘100 measures of oil for money and interest.’  ‘O poor fellow, what was such a large family and with all your children afflicted by diseases, you have to give so much? But did he not give you money to the value of 30 measures?’ ‘Yes, but I needed it urgently, and he said to me, I will give it to you, but on the condition that you will pay me back, whatever the sum will yield to you in three years. It yielded the equivalent of 100 measures, and I must give them.’ ‘But that is usury. Don’t, he’s rich, and you are not far from starving. He has a small family; you have a large one. Write here that it yielded to the value of 50 measures and forget about it. I will swear that it is the truth, and you will benefit by it.’ ‘But will you not betray me if he finds out?’ ‘Do you think it’s possible? I’m the steward, and what I swear is sacred. Do as I tell you, and don’t worry.’ The man signed the document, handed it to him and said, ‘May you be blessed. You are my friend and savior. How can I compensate you?’ ‘In no way, but if I should get into trouble and be dismissed because of this, you will welcome me out of gratitude.’  ‘Oh, of course, certainly you may rely on that.’ The steward went to another debtor and talked to him more or less in the same way. The debtor was to give back 100 measures of wheat because the drought had destroyed his crop for three years, and he had to borrow what was necessary to feed his family. ‘Forget about doubling what he gave you. How can one deny wheat and exact twice as much when a fellow and his family are starving and one’s own wheat is eaten by worms in the barns, because there’s a super abundance of it. Write 80 measures.’ ‘But what about if he remembers that he gave me 20, then another 20 and then 10?’ ‘How can you expect him to remember I gave them to you, and I don’t want to remember. Do as I say, and it is all settled. There must be justice between rich and poor people. If I were the Master, I would accept only the 50 measures, and perhaps I would even forgive them as well.’ ‘Oh, you are good. I wish they were all like you. Remember that my house is open to you.’ The steward called on other debtors in the same way, stating that he was willing to get into trouble to put matters right according to justice and offers of help and blessings rained down upon him. When he was reassured about his future, he went through his master, who in turn, had followed his steps and discovered his trick. The Master, however, praised him, saying, ‘what you did is not right, and I do not praise you for that, but I must praise you for your cunning. The children of this world are really more cunning than the children of light.’ I repeat to you what the rich man said, ‘fraud is not right, and I will never praise anyone for it, but I exhort you to be shrewd, at least like the children of the world with the means of this world, and to make them serve as money to enter the kingdom of light.’ That is, make good use of earthly riches, which are means distributed unjustly and used to purchase a fleeting welfare, which is of no value in the eternal kingdoms. So, use them that they may open the door of the kingdom to you. Assist the poor with the means you have. Give back what you or any other member of your family took unjustly. Break with the evil, guilty love for riches; and all these things will be like friends who, in the hour of your death, will open the eternal gates to you and will receive you in the blissful abode. How can you expect God to give His heavenly goods if He sees that you cannot make good use even of earthly goods as an impossible supposition? Do you want Him to accept squanders in the heavenly Jerusalem? No, never. Up there, one will live with charity, generosity and justice, everybody for one and everybody for everybody. The Communion of Saints is an active and honest society. It is a holy society, and no one who has proved to be unjust or unfaithful can enter it. Do not say, but we shall be faithful up there, because we shall have everything up there without any fear. No, he who is unfaithful in little would be unfaithful even if he possessed everything. And he who is unjust in little is unjust in much. God does not trust true wealth to those who in the earthly test prove that they do not know how to use earthly riches. How can God entrust you one day in heaven with the mission of supporting spirits of your brothers on the earth, when you have shown that extortions, frauds and greed are your prerogatives? He will therefore deny you your treasure, which he had kept for you, and He will give it to those who were shrewd on the earth by using also what is unjust and unwholesome in deeds which make them just and wholesome. No servant can serve two masters, because he will belong to one or to the other. He will hate one or the other. The two masters man can choose, are God or mammon. But if he wishes to belong to the former, he cannot wear the uniform or follow the voice or use the means of the latter. And at that point. Jesus is interrupted by some of His – some of the Pharisees.” So that’s just a little passage from this work that was given to Maria Valtorta. And if you want to learn more about Maria Valtorta or her works, the website, the official website is simply called mariavaltorta.com, mariavaltorta.com. So just in conclusion, with our Blessed Mother, all of us have this short time on earth. And for some of us, as we get older, of course, it’s getting shorter and shorter. Well, for all of us, it’s getting shorter and shorter. And so this is the opportunity to use the money and all the different gifts that God has given us to prepare for eternity by generosity, and if also the sacrifices, as he says, even the lacks of things, the sacrifices we have that also can be in an even more valuable treasure that we can offer for the salvation of souls and to prepare for eternities. As this gospel shows that here on earth, we’re not the owners, but we are the stewards of the gifts that God has given us. So, this Mass is an opportunity to offer to the Lord, and we can even ask Him, ask the Holy Spirit, how we should be using the gifts, the opportunities that the Lord has given us at this point in our life for the good of souls, and as an investment. You know, a lot of investments on earth are not real; sure, right? You can put money in stocks, or, you know, other things, how many people make investments, and it doesn’t turn out very well. I mean, unless you’re in Congress, but if a lot of the investments don’t turn out very well because we’re not sure how they’re going to turn out, but this is a sure investment, and sure to give an infinite reward. So, with this Mass, let us reflect on how, and ask the Holy Spirit how to use this time that the Lord and the gifts, the opportunities the Lord has given us. Amen.

KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
Luke 16:1-13