Be Good Stewards

09-21-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that we are all stewards of our worldly possessions. That as we journey in life, may we not forget that we are accountable to the creator for these possessions, including our talents and our very lives. In addition, the Gospel reminds us that we are mere stewards of our lives, of everything and everyone in our lives; we are on borrowed time, and God loaned everything to us. The day will come when the Lord will ask an accounting of our stewardship. Lk. 16:2 “Prepare a full account of your stewardship.” There is no such thing as being the sole and permanent owner.

The Gospel also challenges us to be smart in the pursuit of the Kingdom of God. Jesus praises the shrewd steward of the master to teach us to be wise. Shrewdness can be transformed into wisdom. - Like the steward who uses his money to gain friends and the future favor from those who owe debts to his master. In this case, Jesus praises the steward’s astuteness and not his dishonesty. For this reason, Jesus asks all would-be disciples to be good and trustworthy stewards by working for an honest living, managing finances wisely to provide for their families, and using money to help others in need.

Just as the steward made the initiative to secure his future, we must act prudently to secure our lives for eternal happiness. Prudence includes the proper and wise use of earthly goods. We are servants of God, and not money. If we are wise, we cooperate in the grace of God and trust His mercy, not in dishonest wealth. Some people say that Money is the root of evil. St. Paul says that the Love of money is the root of evil. (1Tim. 6:10) When one is motivated by personal gain, greed becomes a friend. Remember: Greed is behind all evil designs.

One day, before God, we will be accountable for our stewardship and face divine judgment. The just God will reward us according to how we lived our lives. The greatest problem of man is that we never think that life is all about stewardship. We are pilgrims and not tourists.

• That is one of the bases of the Jewish Jubilee Year, which we Christians adopted. According to Leviticus, slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. (Leviticus 25:8-13) Jewish and Christian concept of Stewardship is the way, time, talents, and treasure are used or given to serve God.
• How are we using our time for God on this pilgrimage?
• At the end of the Pilgrimage, the important question is not what we have acquired (materially), but who we have become before God.

Let go and let God. Lk. 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters.” God invites us to learn to live simply, so that others may simply live, to be content with what we have and where we are in life, and never to forget to be grateful to the giver of gifts. The sooner we learn this lesson, the better. Blessed and peaceful are they who learn this early on. They will be spared from worldly illusions and from regrets and heartaches in their sunset years. Let us be reminded that we carry nothing with us when we leave this world, except the love that we have shared. St. Theresa of Calcutta says: If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.

We are a people of faith. > We bring the sense of our faith into interior life. > We will find the treasures and discover the mysteries of our faith. > “IF YOU LET GO, AND LET GOD, YOU WILL FIND SOMETHING.”

Think about this: Accountability simply means the ability to count correctly and honestly. We pray: Lord, help us to remember, help us not to forget, that life is short and that life is just lent to us. Amen.