19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you have patience? Do you like to wait?
When you enter a waiting room at the railway station or at the airport you find people waiting. Some are chatting with their friends, some on their cell phones or reading books, others are busy with something else. Some pass time, others use it. But one thing is true. Time is precious, once it is gone it never comes back; so it is sad to waste it. Jesus confirms it in today’s Gospel. What he says is not simply a warning. He asks us to be ready to meet the Lord. He asks us to have patience.
Every Christian waits. But we do not live ‘like men waiting for their master to return.’ In our concrete situations we ignore the coming of the Lord, rather forget it, we take it for granted that His coming is a future event, on some ‘last day.’ Sometimes we think our waiting is in vain, our faith an empty dream. We ignore that the readiness to meet the Lord has to be an everyday concern. But the Gospel encourages us; it tells us that the kingdom of God is already yours, no one can take it away from you. God has promised and he will fulfill it to the end.
We on our part are reminded to change our life-style. We have to keep our lamps burning; our faith must shine. How? The Gospel replies: “Sell your belongings and give alms” (Lk: 33-34). Your waiting should not discourage you but make you more yearning towards the Lord.
The parable demands of us to be ‘prepared’ to meet the Lord. It is better to live in readiness to receive Him even when he is late to come than to be caught unexpected. For he may come like a ‘thief in the night.’ So it helps us to respect the responsibilities and make life meaningful. The Lord helps us to be ready for the Him till he comes so that we may be counted among those to whom he said: “Happy are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at the table and wait on them.” That means, Jesus not only fulfills his promise, but also rewards our faithful waiting.
Fr. Henry Rebello SAC
Vacation Time and Announcement
As it was already announced, I will be going home for my vacation from August 10 to September 6, 2016. Even though the Redford Daily Mass summer schedule will officially end on August 26, but at St. Valentine and Our Lady of Loretto we will continue with the summer schedule till I return on September 6. So we will begin our regular schedule from September 8 onwards. Thanks for allowing us to do this and thanks for your patience. As I spend some time away from the regular schedule, I ask you to keep me in your prayers as I assure you the same from my part.
And for those of you who were not there to listen to the announcement last Sunday – I am assigned to be the Pastor for a term of 6 years beginning July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2022. I am happy to continue serving you as I have received a lot of support and encouragement from you. And with God’s blessings I know we can do a lot better in the years to come. I thank the Archbishop for placing his trust in me and entrusting me the care of both the parishes for another term.
God Bless us all.
Fr. Socorro