Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

I remember the shock: it was 1995 and I was in college. A classmate with whom I had many classes in high school died at the age of 20. When you are young, you think you are going to live forever; as you get older, you realize time goes quicker than you think. Jesus’ words are just as true today as they were back then: “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” When I come before the Lord at the end of my life – which could be any day – what will I tell him that I did with all the earthen treasures that he entrusted to my care?

After all, he created the world; everything ultimately belongs to him. Did I freely and gladly return to him what is already his? Did I give of my treasure to the poor and to the Church? It is one thing to bequeath my money after I die and it is no longer any good to me, it is another to lovingly give it away now. I hope to love Jesus intensely now by giving back my treasure so that I may ultimately have treasure in heaven.