The gospel reading for this Sunday is the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30). The talents are distributed to three persons: one gets five, the second two, and the third one talent, “each according to their ability”. According to Sr. Carolyn Osiek even one talent was a large amount of money. To note one scriptural source that she mentions, she says that just one talent, according to the book of Maccabees (8:11), was “the price for ninety slaves” (Give Us This Day, p.164, November 2020). Why, then, would the servant who had the one talent go off and bury it? What is the dynamic motivating his action? We are told that the person with the one talent perceived his master as ‘demanding’, ‘harvesting where he did not plant’, and ‘out of fear’ he went and buried the talent. Perhaps one reflection out of this gospel is to ask ourselves how does fear control, hinder, or immobilize us in doing something with the one talent, the gift God has given us?

When we each professed our monastic vows at our solemn profession, was not our ‘yes’ total? If we reflect on the ‘burning’ feeling in our hearts at that time, there was a strong affect and love within our ‘yes’; we were aware (at least I hope we were aware!) that our ‘yes’ was total, we were ready to give our all for the ‘pearl of great price’ (Mt 13:46).

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 49 The Observance of Lent Mass: Rm 10:9-18; Resp Ps 19; Mt 4:18-22

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

‘Can you drink the cup that I drink?  Can you be baptized with the baptism which I am baptized?’ (Mk 10:38).  These are Jesus’ words to his disciples and to each of us, his ‘would-be’ disciples’.  These two questions of Jesus are in response to the favor James and John are asking, the desire for personal glory.  In one sense or at one level there is nothing ‘wrong’ per se with this desire.  It comes down to the motivation of the heart, does it not?&

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 14 The Celebration of Vigils on Feasts of Saints
Mass: 2 Tm 4:10b-17; Resp Ps 45; Lk 10:1-9


The Lord stood by me and gave me strength.
As Jesus spoke to Paul, Luke, and Mark, he also speaks to us in the Gospel Acclamation: 'I chose you from the world, to g