Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two.  But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.

God never gives us more than we can handle. He always gives us responsibilities that are suited to our talents and the grace to use those talents to fulfill our duties. It is up to us to use our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual abilities to magnify God and bear good fruits. We are asked by God to invest our time, talents, and treasures into what will bring glory to Him and the greatest good to others. We might be intimidated by what God is asking us to do, but that doesn’t give us an excuse not to try. We should be afraid of letting God down far more than we are that He will fail us. He asks us to simply give the tasks before us our best shots. If we succeed, great, if we fail that is fine... the important thing from God’s point of view is we overcame our fears and tried.

What talents has God given us? Where are we investing our time, talents, and treasures? How can we do a better job of doing what He is asking us to do?

O Lord, give us the grace and courage to use our talents to magnify you in all things.

Amen.