{"id":27372,"date":"2023-08-31T06:49:36","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T10:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/?p=27372"},"modified":"2023-08-31T13:21:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T17:21:35","slug":"awaiting-the-divine-thief-as-faithful-and-prudent-stewards-21st-thursday-i-august-31-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/awaiting-the-divine-thief-as-faithful-and-prudent-stewards-21st-thursday-i-august-31-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Awaiting the Divine Thief as Faithful and Prudent Stewards, 21st Thursday (I), August 31, 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fr. Roger J. Landry<br \/>\nColumbia Catholic Ministry, Notre Dame Church, Manhattan<br \/>\nThursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year I<br \/>\nVotive Mass for the Grace of a Happy Death<br \/>\nAugust 31, 2023<br \/>\n1 Thes 3:7-13, Ps 90, Mt 24:42-51<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily, please click below:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-27372-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The following points were\u00a0attempted in the homily:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Today Jesus uses a shocking image to describe himself in relation to us. We\u2019re used to so many other titles he gives himself that are rich and inviting: Good Shepherd, Son of Man, Son of God, Savior, Lord, Resurrection and Life, Light of the World, the Way, The Truth, Gate, and more. Today he labels himself as a Thief, putting that title in parallel with \u201cyour Lord\u201d and \u201cSon of Man.\u201d We normally don\u2019t hold thieves in esteem. The whole reason why the Good Thief is remembered by that title is because \u201cgood\u201d and \u201cthief\u201d together are paradoxical terms. But Jesus&#8217; being like a thief is clearly what he means to communicate. In the Book of Revelation, he addresses St. John twice by saying, \u201cIf you are not watchful, I will come like a thief and you will never know at what hour I will come\u201d (Rev 3:3) and \u201cBehold I am coming like a thief\u201d (Rev 16:15). St. Paul, later in his first letter to the Thessalonians than the passage we have this morning says, \u201cFor you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. \u2026 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief\u201d (1 Thess 5:2-4). St. Peter in his Second Letter likewise reminder the early Christians, \u201cThe day of the Lord will come like a thief\u201d (2 Pet 3:10).<\/li>\n<li>Why does Jesus choose this image? I think for two reasons. The first is to help us acknowledge and overcome our sense of ownership of our life, our time, our things. We\u2019re afraid of thieves because we are afraid of losing what we have. But none of what we have \u2014 even our life \u2014 is our own. We\u2019re stewards of a gift. We can\u2019t and won\u2019t be afraid of the \u201cthievery\u201d of God if we\u2019re already seeking to <em>give<\/em> him all we have and are. The second reason is to focus on the aspect of surprise. We\u2019re afraid of thieves because we want to feel safe and secure, we want to think that while we\u2019re asleep or away that we and our possessions are protected, that they\u2019ll all be there when we return or wake up, that somebody won\u2019t liquidate our bank account, or empty our house of all its valuables, or even swipe and use our identity. Unlike armed robbers who act in daylight overpowering us with threat of force or death, thieves are more like pickpockets, working when we don\u2019t expect or perceive. Jesus does not want us to be surprised, but rather always expecting him, always awake, sober, looking forward to an encounter with him, so that we\u2019re never surprised when he comes, in day to day life, or, more apropos to today\u2019s Gospel, at the end of our life on earth.<\/li>\n<li>The types of virtues Jesus wishes for us in awaiting his thievery are given in the second part of today\u2019s Gospel, when Jesus describes the \u201cfaithful and prudent servant.\u201d Faithful, <em>pistis<\/em> in Greek, means first \u201cbelieving\u201d or \u201ctrusting,\u201d indicating that it\u2019s someone who trusts in the Master and in turn earns the Master\u2019s trust. He believes in the Master. He loves the Master. He believes he\u2019s good and worthy of his trust and so behaves, intentionally, consistent with that confidence. The other virtue is <em>phronimos,\u00a0<\/em>which is generally translated \u201cwise\u201d or \u201cprudent\u201d but basically means practical, acting considerately on the truth, incarnating goodness in needs. It\u2019s someone who is passionately committed to fulfilling one\u2019s duties out of that trust and love in the ruler. Jesus contrasts this faithful and prudent steward with a \u201cwicked servant\u201d who thinks his master is long delayed, who harms the other servants, who gives in to pleasure, who thinks that there will always be time to clean things up later and pretend as if he were faithful and prudent. But this image conveys to us very clearly the diabolical ploy to convince us that there\u2019s always time; Jesus on the other hand wants us to live as if every day is the day of his coming. He doesn\u2019t tell us the day or the hour precisely so that we might treat every day as that day or hour, and rather than dread an ambush, live in alert, loving expectation. When St. Paul tells the Thessalonians today that is wanted to &#8220;remedy the deficiencies&#8221; of their faith, most, as we can see in the letter, are concerned with how to live now in expectation of the return of the Lord. He wanted them to live as faithful and prudent stewards of the gift of time and of their life, so that they may &#8220;increase and abound in love for one another and for all,&#8221; with hearts &#8220;blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Someone who shows us how to do this is St. Therese Lisieux. During the last couple of years of her life, as she was dying of tuberculosis, she began to relate increasingly to Jesus as \u201cLe Voleur,\u201d the \u201cthief.\u201d She wanted to help the Thief steal her heart. When her sister Pauline (Mother Agnes of Jesus) asked her whether she was afraid of the Thief who seemed to be at the door, she replied, \u201cHe\u2019s not at the door. He\u2019s already come in,\u201d adding, \u201cHow could I be afraid of someone I love so much?\u201d She made up a small aspiration that she would pray, showing her approach to Jesus the Thief, \u201c<em>Le Voleur viendra et m\u2019emport\u2019ra!<\/em> <em>Alleluia<\/em>!\u201d \u201cThe thief will come and snatch me away! Alleluia!\u201d Her whole approach was summarized by her waiting for the Thief quietly with loving expectation to take her to be with him forever.\u00a0She was always alert and awake for his coming.<\/li>\n<li>One of the most helpful things I\u2019ve ever read, early in my own journey, was Chapter 23 of the <em>Imitation of Christ<\/em>, which is all about the spirituality of a faithful and prudent servant, someone who is perpetually alert and eager for the coming of the Divine Thief. In it Thomas \u00e0 Kempis wisely teaches us, \u201cVery soon your life here will end; consider, then, what may be in store for you elsewhere. \u2026 In every deed and every thought, act as though you were to die this very day. \u2026 If you are not prepared today, how will you be prepared tomorrow? Tomorrow is an uncertain day; how do you know you will have a tomorrow? \u2026 Blessed is he who keeps the moment of death ever before his eyes and prepares for it every day. \u2026 In the morning consider that you may not live till evening, and when evening comes do not dare to promise yourself the dawn. Be always ready, therefore, and so live that death will never take you unprepared. Many die suddenly and unexpectedly, for in the unexpected hour the Son of God will come. When that last moment arrives you will begin to have a quite different opinion of the life that is now entirely past and you will regret very much that you were so careless and remiss. How happy and prudent is he who tries now in life to be what he wants to be found in death.\u2026 The present is very precious; these are the days of salvation; now is the acceptable time. \u2026 Try to live now in such a manner that at the moment of death you may be glad rather than fearful. Learn to die to the world now, that then you may begin to live with Christ. Learn to spurn all things now, that then you may freely go to Him.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>This type of spirituality ought to impact our daily encounter with the Holy Thief at the altar. We ought to live every Mass as if it is our last, every Communion as if it is Viaticum, every proclamation of the Gospel as if it\u2019s the words of eternal life we most need to hear, every command to \u201cdo this in memory of Jesus\u201d as an action item to spend our last day seeing to honor and spread love of him. That is the way, indeed, that with abounding love and firm hearts, we will be &#8220;blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his holy ones.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>The\u00a0<\/em><i>readings for today\u2019s Mass were:<\/i><\/p>\n<h4>Reading 1 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/readings\/bible\/1thessalonians\/3:7\">1 THES 3:7-13<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>We have been reassured about you, brothers and sisters,<br \/>\nin our every distress and affliction, through your faith.<br \/>\nFor we now live, if you stand firm in the Lord.<\/p>\n<p>What thanksgiving, then, can we render to God for you,<br \/>\nfor all the joy we feel on your account before our God?<br \/>\nNight and day we pray beyond measure to see you in person<br \/>\nand to remedy the deficiencies of your faith.<br \/>\nNow may God himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus<br \/>\ndirect our way to you, and may the Lord make you increase<br \/>\nand abound in love for one another and for all,<br \/>\njust as we have for you,<br \/>\nso as to strengthen your hearts,<br \/>\nto be blameless in holiness before our God and Father<br \/>\nat the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones. Amen.<\/p>\n<h4>Responsorial Psalm <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/readings\/bible\/psalms\/90:3\">PS 90:3-5A, 12-13, 14 AND 17<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>R. (14) <strong>Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!<\/strong><br \/>\nYou turn man back to dust,<br \/>\nsaying, \u201cReturn, O children of men.\u201d<br \/>\nFor a thousand years in your sight<br \/>\nare as yesterday, now that it is past,<br \/>\nor as a watch of the night.<br \/>\nR. <strong>Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!<\/strong><br \/>\nTeach us to number our days aright,<br \/>\nthat we may gain wisdom of heart.<br \/>\nReturn, O LORD! How long?<br \/>\nHave pity on your servants!<br \/>\nR. <strong>Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!<\/strong><br \/>\nFill us at daybreak with your kindness,<br \/>\nthat we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.<br \/>\nAnd may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;<br \/>\nprosper the work of our hands for us!<br \/>\nProsper the work of our hands!<br \/>\nR. <strong>Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Alleluia <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/readings\/bible\/matthew\/24:42\">MT 24:42A, 44<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>R. <strong>Alleluia, alleluia.<\/strong><br \/>\nStay awake!<br \/>\nFor you do not know when the Son of Man will come.<br \/>\nR. <strong>Alleluia, alleluia.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h4>Gospel <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usccb.org\/bible\/readings\/bible\/matthew\/24:42\">MT 24:42-51<\/a><\/h4>\n<p>Jesus said to his disciples:<br \/>\n\u201cStay awake!<br \/>\nFor you do not know on which day your Lord will come.<br \/>\nBe sure of this: if the master of the house<br \/>\nhad known the hour of night when the thief was coming,<br \/>\nhe would have stayed awake<br \/>\nand not let his house be broken into.<br \/>\nSo too, you also must be prepared,<br \/>\nfor at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,<br \/>\nwhom the master has put in charge of his household<br \/>\nto distribute to them their food at the proper time?<br \/>\nBlessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.<br \/>\nAmen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.<br \/>\nBut if that wicked servant says to himself, \u2018My master is long delayed,\u2019<br \/>\nand begins to beat his fellow servants,<br \/>\nand eat and drink with drunkards,<br \/>\nthe servant\u2019s master will come on an unexpected day<br \/>\nand at an unknown hour and will punish him severely<br \/>\nand assign him a place with the hypocrites,<br \/>\nwhere there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2017-08-31-at-9.40.41-AM.png.webp?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27373\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Screen-Shot-2017-08-31-at-9.40.41-AM.png.webp?resize=206%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"206\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_1838\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-27372-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3\">https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/?powerpress_pinw=27372-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fr. Roger J. Landry Columbia Catholic Ministry, Notre Dame Church, Manhattan Thursday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time, Year I Votive Mass for the Grace of a Happy Death August 31, 2023 1 Thes 3:7-13, Ps 90, Mt 24:42-51 &nbsp; To listen to an audio recording of today\u2019s homily, please click below:\u00a0 https:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/secure\/catholicpreaching\/8.31.23_Homily_1.mp3 &nbsp; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13365,1063,3,12314,5],"tags":[10575,2919,10577,3316,13687,7065,10579,1337,10580,10576,2664,2544,10581,10578],"class_list":["post-27372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2022-2023-year-i","category-audio-homily","category-homily","category-podcast","category-year-i","tag-1-thes-37-13","tag-death","tag-faithful-and-prudent-servant","tag-good-thief","tag-happy-death","tag-imitation-of-christ","tag-le-voleur","tag-mt-2442-51","tag-phronimos","tag-pistis","tag-ps-90","tag-st-therese-lisieux","tag-thief","tag-wicked-servant"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Awaiting the Divine Thief as Faithful and Prudent Stewards, 21st Thursday (I), August 31, 2023 - Catholic Preaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/catholicpreaching.com\/wp\/awaiting-the-divine-thief-as-faithful-and-prudent-stewards-21st-thursday-i-august-31-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Awaiting the Divine Thief as Faithful and Prudent Stewards, 21st Thursday (I), August 31, 2023 - Catholic Preaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fr. 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