My Dear People, 

In today’s Gospel  Jesus is speaking to the Apostles about the responsible servant who is a steward of his master’s possessions while waiting for his return. This leads us to think we, as travelers on earth, are that prudent servant.

In those times, long garments were typically worn, and so traveling people would tie their long garments with a belt around their legs enabling them to move more freely. Jesus wants us to live on earth, like travelers, with girded loins. Also, we are to be like servants waiting for the return of the master, and, not knowing at what time he would return, we are to remain vigilant. 

Life is a continuous expectation of death, and death is the solemn moment in which Jesus, the bridegroom of the Church, comes to collect our souls and introduce us to the eternal wedding feast. Because nobody knows the moment of death, Jesus will come suddenly, when we least expect it. Life on earth is like a long night because it does not have the true light of joy, and it is a test. 

 Life may be regarded as divided into three vigils, as the ancients divided the night:  youth, manhood, and old age. The Lord can come during any of these three vigils. It is necessary for us to always be vigilant to welcome Him if we want Him to make us partakers in eternal glory.  It is almost like a master who girds himself, then has faithful servants sit down at the table for him to serve. The Lord in His glory gives us His own happiness, and it may be truly said that He nourishes us because in His greatness, He makes himself proportionate to each soul, according to its capacity,  and He feeds it with eternal goods.

During the night, thieves can come to steal our soul because demons are always ready to ambush us. We must also be on guard against the incursions of demons that try to compromise the moment when the soul meets God. 

Here is a perspective on life that cannot accept illusions and cannot make a Christian hesitant to meet his obligations. Since he is a traveler, he lives in a transient situation, and he cannot be at all interested in what is temporal. He should be even less interested in what deprives  him of his eternal goods. 

Peter, listening to this teaching, asked the Teacher if it was meant for everyone or only for the Apostles—he would have liked to understand better what it meant to be vigilant and to wait for Him, and so he asked for clarification. Maybe he thought Jesus was speaking of the temporal kingdom they were expecting. Jesus did not answer him directly because it was clear that the instructions were for everyone, but He did add what pertained especially to the Apostles, and in general to the ministers of God. They, in fact, were not only to be vigilant for themselves, but also for all others, as faithful and wise stewards of the gifts of God to souls.

Jesus Christ expresses this thought with a question: “Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward?” and so on.  He spoke in this way because He was surrounded by the scribes and Pharisees who were violent and unfaithful stewards. He wanted to tell him: “Do you believe that there are faithful and prudent stewards who give to everyone what God grants for the good of souls?” And without going into detail, He insists that a minister of God must watch over all souls and perform with great care and fidelity the office received from the Lord towards them, while keeping in mind the final account. Those ministers who believe that life consists of having fun or is just a search for material comforts mishandle souls instead of healing them and give themselves over to a disordered life.  During the final judgment, they will be considered unfaithful and will be punished. 

With regard to our souls, we must be vigilant at all times and be ready to meet the Lord at any time in our lives, because we do not know when our time will come. 

To be vigilant means to be prepared! 

[Parts from Don Dolindo Ruotolo’s reflections on the Gospel of Luke]

Yours in Christ, 

Fr. Vincent Clemente