Put your life to work

Our Lord Jesus Christ is a wonderful preacher; He uses images that are familiar to people to teach them deep truths that are unknown. Here, He uses the concept of the authority of the King. In those times, Kings had to travel to Rome to confirm their kingship.

First, this parable is addressed directly to the Jews. They received the first talents, the first blessings of God, and were to produce fruits of sanctity and justice to God. But some of them deny His royal authority or would ascend to heaven and receive all authority. Remember, "I have received all authority and power..." (Mt. 28:18).

Once Jesus has received His kingship, He will come to us to settle accounts for the gifts He has given to us.

As you see, this parable has many layers, but let's focus on our lives. Each person has received different talents; there is no one who has not received at least one.

Some have denied the authority of Christ, people who say, "I do not want to be ruled by the body of Christ, that is, the Church; I want to rule by my own."

There are people who have made grow what they have received: their intelligence, their charity, their wealth.

And then there are the lazy people, those who never put their talents to work.

We see that God takes what belongs to the lazy and gives it to the one who really works with it.

As in natural law, the ability that you do not use, you will lose. The same thing applies in the supernatural: if we use well the graces that we have received, we dispose our soul to receive more abundant blessings.

Let us make an examination of how we are using the greatest talent, the bag of gold that we have—our time. How much of this do we really dedicate to God?