September 21 through September 27, 2025
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(September 21, 2025: Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.”
"One small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind."
Astronaut Neil Armstrong's words - accompanied as they were by the "thump" of his foot on the moon's surface - created a global image that affirmed once again our potential as human beings. It also gave us an image that inspires future generations to work together to realize still more dimensions of our human potential.
In his book Soul Mates (p viii), Thomas Moore approaches ‘soul making’ very much in terms of symbols and imagination. In fact, his major premise with respect to conversion and transformation is that changing imagery is crucial to changing priorities and behaviors.
Changing priorities and behaviors was very much the thrust of St. Francis de Sales in his Introduction to the Devout Life. He promoted a very different image of holiness in his day and age. The prevailing image was monastic life, which saw the committed Christian life as removed from the affairs of the world. The new image was more like being at court, which saw the committed Christian life as being fully engaged in the affairs of the world. De Sales comments, “Wherever we may be, we can and should aspire to live a holy life.” (IDL, Part 1, Chapter 3)
This Salesian image offers a lens for seeing the message of today's Scriptures. Luke in his parable and Amos in his prophetic pronouncement speak to the man or woman engaged in the business of life, calling them to live in such a way as to give the fullest expression to their God-given dignity and destiny. From the negative side Amos castigates the ‘so called’ believers who cannot wait for the liturgy to be over and can return to fraud in the pursuit of profits. From the positive side, Jesus notes the unjust steward's prudence in meeting his needs in a crisis. He wishes this quality of clever prudence for all committed believers who want to love and serve God with their lives in and out of crisis.
What can sustain the committed Christian in the way of clever prudence? De Sales offers an image for prayer and reflection to care for the soul in this situation. He tells the devout Christian: “Imitate little children who with one hand hold fast to their father while with the other they gather berries from the hedge.” (IDL, Part 3, Chapter 10)
The most important thing we can do to become our whole selves in the business world (or anywhere for that matter) is to make an effort to stay connected and grounded. Time spent in honest prayer and reflection helps us connect with ourselves, with our values, with our faith community, our neighbor, and quintessentially with our God “in the midst of so much busyness.” (Letters of Spiritual Direction, p. 163)
Justice, like its counterpart: beauty, truth, and love, all-too-often remain an abstraction. Fairness, woven into the heart of the committed Christian man or woman (indeed, of anyone), could collectively be such a ‘giant leap for mankind’ for living a more grounded life and producing a more just and loving world.
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(September 22, 2025: Monday, Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time)
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"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light…”
Lighting a lamp, only to subsequently hide it? From a Salesian perspective, that certainly sounds a lot like the practice of false humility.
In a Lenten sermon, Francis de Sales made the following observation:
“We must indeed keep ourselves humble because of our imperfections, but this humility must be the foundation of a great generosity, for the one without the other degenerates into imperfection. Humility without generosity is only a deception and a cowardice of the heart that makes us think that we are good for nothing and that others should never think of using us for anything great.”
Imperfect as we are, the light of God’s love implanted in us is not meant to be hidden – it is meant to be shared. So, let your light shine for and with others!
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(September 23, 2019: Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest)
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“My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
In earlier times in human history – before the development and growth of urban centers – communities tended to be small and tight-knit. Everybody knew everybody else, so much so, that when asked to identify members of a particular clan, tribe or family it was easy to pick them out by how they looked, spoke or acted
We are children of the Father, siblings of Jesus and embodiments of the Holy Spirit. How easily do others identify us as members of God’s family by how we look, speak and act?
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(September 24, 2025: Wednesday, Twenty-fifth Week Ordinary Time)
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“Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, and let no one take a second tunic.”
When it comes to making progress along the road of life, Jesus is challenging us to travel lightly. While we should make some long-term plans for our lives and adjust those plans on a daily basis, Jesus urges us to resist the temptation to pack too many things that we figure we might ‘need’ for the journey.
All of us probably have seen people struggling with way-too-much luggage on vacation. In their attempt to prepare for just about every contingency that they might encounter during the course of their journey, they overdue it. What is the result? Ironically enough, all the stuff that they packed to help them prepare for the trip ends up becoming the biggest hindrance on the trip.
In a letter addressed to Jane de Chantal (January 1615), Francis de sales wrote:
“May God be with you on your journey. May God keep you clothed in the garment of his charity. May God nourish your soul with the heavenly bread of his consolation. May God bring you back safe and sound…May God be your God forever.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, p. 226)
Whatever else she may have packed for her journey, Francis de Sales invited her (in the form of a blessing) to focus on the few things that she would truly need for her trip. The list might not sound like much, but upon closer review, it contains he things that really matter.
What provisions – if anything – will we choose to bring with us on the journey of life today?
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(September 25, 2025: Thursday, Twenty-fifth Week Ordinary Time)
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“Consider your ways!”
The verb “consider” is defined: to think about (something or someone) carefully especially in order to make a choice or decision; to think about something that is important in understanding something or in making a decision or judgment; to think about (a person or a person's feelings) before you do something
In Part One of his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales offers us a great many things to “consider”:
“Consider that a certain number of years ago you were not yet in the world.”
“Consider the nature that God has given to you. It is the highest in this visible world and is capable of eternal life and of being perfectly united to the Divine Majesty.”
“Consider the unhappiness of worldly people who live as if they believe themselves created only to build houses, plant trees, pile up wealth and do frivolous things.”
“Consider the corporal benefits that God has bestowed on you.”
“Consider your gifts of mind.”
“Consider your spiritual favors.”
“Consider your evil inclinations and how often you give way to them.”
“Consider particularly the sin of ingratitude to God.”
“Consider how uncertain the day of your death is.”
“Consider that there will come a time for you when the world will no longer be.”
“Consider the long, languishing goodbye that your soul will give to this world.”
“Consider with what haste others will carry away your body and bury it in the earth.”
Consider how the soul – after leaving the body – goes its way, either to the right or to the left. Ah, where will your soul go?”
“Consider the nobility, beauty and the number of the citizens and inhabitants of heaven.”
“Consider that you stand between heaven and hell and that each of them lies open to receive you according to the choices you make.”
“Consider that the choice of one or the other of them that we make in this world will last eternally in the world to come.”
What might you spend some time considering just this day?
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(September 25, 2021: Cosmos and Damien, Martyrs)
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“Take courage; do not fear!”
Pick a place, people or problem. On any given day, there are more than a few things that might cause us to fear. In a letter to Jane de Chantal, Francis de Sales counseled:
“Be brave – we shall win through God’s help. Believe me, this is a better sort of weather for a journey than if the sun were always shining on us. Recently I was watching bees and how they remained quietly in the shelter of their hives when the air is misty. They came out from time to time to see how things were going and yet they did not seem in a hurry to come out. Rather, they were busy eating to fill their honey. Be of good cheer! We have no control over any spiritual light or consolation except what depends on our will, and that is protected and sheltered by our holy resolutions. While the great seal of God’s chancery is upon our hearts there is nothing to fear.” (Stopp, Selected Letters, pp. 99 – 100)
Life can be a scary at times. Tempted as we might be, however, we cannot play it safe forever. We need to venture out from the hives of our minds and hearts on a daily basis – there is work to be done! Whatever challenges or difficulties we might experience today, let us try our best not to succumb to fear. Remember – God continues in our midst, with us and among us.
Take courage, then, and share it with others!
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(September 27, 2025: Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest and Founder)
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“Pay attention to what I am telling you.”
Today we celebrate the life and legacy of St. Vincent de Paul. In his book entitled This Saint’s for You, Thomas J. Craughwell wrote:
“Vincent de Paul’s…temperament was such that he could never turn away from a person in need, no matter what the need was. The list of troubles he sought to alleviate is astounding. He brought food and medicine to penniless sick people, comforted convicts condemned to row the galleys, and sheltered orphans, the elderly and soldiers incapacitated by war wounds. He opened hospitals, took in abandoned babies and taught catechism to children. He founded an order of nuns (the Daughters of Charity) to serve the poor and another for priests to teach and encourage religious devotion among the urban poor and country peasants. In time, the Vincentians’ (as they came to be called) method for educating people in the faith was adopted by many bishops for use in their own seminaries.” (This Saint’s for You, p. 108)
There is nothing new about what St. Vincent de Paul did. After all, countless saints (both those known and many more unknown) have been doing good things for others in the name of God since time immemorial. That said, Vincent de Paul is recognized for having the courage to do well-known and well-established good things for God’s people in new and creative ways that fit the needs of the times. In so doing, he was “paying attention” to how Jesus was speaking to him by paying attention to the signs of the times in his day.
Today, how might God be asking us “to pay attention” to how He may be speaking to us through the needs of our brothers and sisters in our own day?
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