The Faithful and Prudent Steward

“Do not be afraid any longer little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom”. This is one of the many instances in the Gospels where Jesus encourages us not to fear, but instead to put our trust in Him. He is letting us know that God the Father is seeking us out and wants to give us the kingdom. We only need to trust Jesus and the eternal life that He promises for us.


In the three parables that follow, Jesus will drive home the point that we should not become distracted by worldly treasures but seek first the kingdom of God. We are both spirit and body, and Jesus understands that we have appetites that we will want to satisfy. The example of the steward who gets drunk and becomes a tyrant is an extreme example of what happens when God is no longer the primary mover in our lives, and the appetites have taken over. Jesus is telling us that God the Father wants to give us the kingdom of heaven, but our time and talents are not to be used only to enrich ourselves. “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be”. When we discover that our actions are not driven by a desire to serve the kingdom of God, then it is time to reevaluate and discard what has become our treasure.


We learn from the Catechism, that “God put us in the world to know, to love, and to serve him and so to come to paradise” (CCC 1721). We want to serve the one who loved us first, not out of fear but out of love. The caution against allowing our appetites to dictate our actions and behavior is because God knows that it will lead to unhappiness on our earthly pilgrimage and endanger our eternal salvation. Jesus will lead us to the kingdom of heaven, we only have to cooperate with His grace.


In his encyclical, Caritas Est (“God is Love”), Pope Benedict XVI exhorts us to live the Christian life by willing the good of the other. Pope Benedict wrote, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” It is a privilege to participate in the divine life with Christ. As disciples of Jesus, we profess that God is the primary mover in our lives. 

Our lives belong to God, and discerning how He wants us to serve Him requires time with His Word in prayer. We pray for the prudence and fortitude to be the faithful steward whom the master finds doing His will.
Manuel Leon
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Business Manager 

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