Would you be interested in joining our team? https://bathurst.catholic.org.au/administrative-position-available-bathurst-chancery-office/ (fb)

𝐁𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩 𝐌𝐜𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭@𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟓𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝟖:𝟒-𝟕 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝟏𝟏𝟐:𝟏-𝟐, 𝟒-𝟖: 𝐑. 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐯𝐯.𝟏. 𝟕 𝟏 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝟐:𝟏-𝟖 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝟏𝟔:𝟏-𝟏𝟑 ⁣ 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 The world is passing through difficult economic times, as we know. And, as usual, it is the poor and the powerless who will suffer the most. This Sunday and next Sunday, we hear from the prophet Amos, who brought God’s Word to the people of his time and now to us. 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳… Jesus is more than a prophet: he is the Word of God made flesh. And his teachings repeat and amplify the message of the prophets because he is that Word among us. The parable he tells in today’s Gospel has often mystified some people. Read it slowly for yourself and listen to what it says to you. Note that the praise of the dishonest steward comes, not from God, but from his master, apparently involved in shady practices himself. The teaching Jesus gives begins with heavy sarcasm: 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 (𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭) 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺. Of course, that’s a ludicrous notion. Money may buy us comfort and privilege in this life, but it is not the admission price to heaven. Even good people can drift into caring too much about money and hanging on to it; and begin to neglect their obligations of love for God and their neighbour. It is a good moment to reflect on how we use and share the possessions and money we have, whether it is large or small. 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩; 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴. (fb)