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TRI Continental Film Festival - Dona Paula, Goa, Sep 28 - Oct 2, 2007
http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricontinental/tricon.htm
For public viewing
Registration at The International Centre Goa Ph: +91 (832) 2452805 to 10
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16-Sep-2007
Dear Friend,
It is said that Money makes the world go round, and Money is the root of
all evil! Most people believe that to have a successful life, you have to be
good in making a fast buck. Doesnt money have a rightful place in life? What
is Gods perspective on money and wealth? It depends on how we use it or how we
are possessed by it. Have a wise weekend letting God and money have their
proper place! Fr. Jude
Sunday Reflections: Twenty-fifth Sunday God or Money! 23-Sep-07
Readings: Amos 8:4-7; Timothy2:1-8;
Luke 16:1-13;
The prophets were always aware of the role money plays in our life and in the
practice of the faith. In fact the prophet Amos saw it as one of the chief ways
for the practice of religion. Quite bluntly the prophet states that one who
exploits the poor cannot serve God. Worship of God cannot be genuine unless we
are concerned about the poor and their needs. Amos faced a people outwardly
religious, but inwardly corrupt. They went through the outward trappings of
religiosity, but failed to love their neighbor, especially the poor, as they
should. Amos felt called by God to denounce injustices towards the poor and the
oppressed. Money we say is the root of all evil, but our desire for it has not
diminished a bit.
The joy of giving
When her husband Ray Kroc died in 1984, Joan Kroc was left with an estimated
$700 million. Her wealth included an 8.7 percent share of the common stock of
the McDonalds food empire and full ownership of the San Diego Padres baseball
franchise. Since that time this fast food empress became a woman of many
causes. Besides giving sizeable donations to nuclear-disarmament groups, the
San Diago zoo, St Judes Childrens Hospital in Memphis and the American Red
Cross for African famine relief, Joan Kroc has also been a steady supporter of
the arts, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, medical research, wildlife
preservation and programs to combat child abuse. Some skeptics dismiss her as a
jet-set do-gooder, but close friends say that she becomes personally involved
in many of the causes she supports. -Todays reading from Scripture seems to be
a blueprint for Joan Krocs use of money. She is the anti-thesis of the rich
decried by the prophet Amos for trampling on the needy and
taking unfair advantage of the poor.
Albert Cylwicki in His Word Resounds
In the second reading from Paul to Timothy, Paul speaks of the duty that
falls on every Christian to intercede and pray for all people, especially for
those in highly responsible positions, in order to obtain Gods grace and
blessings of peace. Our prayer becomes a powerful intercession when united with
Christ the mediator and Saviour of all. Throughout the passage the emphasis is
on praying for all persons with no one excluded. God listens to the prayers of
all, for all peoples.
In todays Gospel the parable of the unjust steward is difficult to
understand. It follows directly after the parable of the prodigal son. In fact
both were squanderers. But the squandering of the first led to repentance and
reunion while the squandering of the second leads to dependence on money and
its consequences. If Jesus appears to praise the steward it is certainly not
for his unjust actions but for his foresight. The children of this world are
more clever that the children of the light The proper way of using riches
is by using it for reaching out to those in need, by giving it away to help
others rather than use it selfishly for ones own needs. The steward was
commended for, as it were, killing two birds with one stroke. In letting the
debtors lower the interest to be paid, he could not be punished by the master
because the rates charged were much higher than legally permissible. He was in
fact observing the law. On the other hand those who had to pay the
debt were grateful because their debt was lessened, thanks to the shrewd
steward. Money while often being tainted and seductive can be an instrument of
doing good. Luke is not advising the Christian to be a beggar but is reminding
us that when we stand before God we will be asked to give an account of all
that we have received. We cannot serve two masters, God and money, we have to
make our choice.
It all comes back
There was a company which built houses, and their business was on a very
large scale. There is a story told about one of their building contractors, who
was approaching the age of retirement. He had become very careless and
carefree, and his working standards were constantly slipping. He began cutting
corners, using inferior material, and taking short cuts. He was quite pleased
with himself, and he felt he was onto a good thing here. As time progressed, so
did the standard of his work disimprove. The houses were new, so the faults
would not show up straightaway, and he would be well out of business by then.
The time of his retiring arrived, and it coincided with what was possibly the
most shoddily built house he had ever built. Imagine his surprise at his
retirement party, when his golden handshake was to be presented with the keys
of that last house he had just completed!
Jack McArdle in And thats the Gospel truth
Keep your head up!
There was once a young fellow who found a silver dollar. From that time on he
never raised his eyes from the ground when he walked. In the next ten years he
accumulated $3,50 in silver, 37 pennies, 18,478 buttons, 14,369 pins, a hunch
back, a miserly character and a very rotten disposition. He lost the beauty and
glory of sunshine, the smiles of friends, the gorgeous colours and beauty of
flowers and trees, blue skies, and all there is which makes life worthwhile
Keep your head up, your eyes towards the stars. You may miss finding a few
pennies but you will find all the beautiful things that make the living of life
a glorious adventure.
P. Fontaine in Quotes and Anecdotes
There is no way of describing the place money has in the lives of men!
Today, without doubt, it counts more than ever, for all that it goes on
depreciating in value. We know that no matter how bad things are, there are
always cleaver speculators who manage astutely to get returns on their
investments. In the case of the dishonest steward who, not content with wasting
the goods entrusted to him, went so far as to falsify his accounts, the
admiration expressed by Jesus is not for his lack of principle, but for his
shrewdness and ability! There is room for us to learn a lesson from a petty
swindler, if we are serious about possessing the kingdom of God! Jesus shows us
how to make a good investment, what is the Christianly shrewd way of using
tainted money. It is tainted because we are always tempted to surrender to
its attractive force, to worship it and not God. Jesus teaches us how to make a
good servant out of what can be a bad master. -Glenstal Bible Missal
Street-wise
Jesus went on to point out that the children of this world are more astute in
dealing with their own kind of people than are the children of light. That is
the point the only point that Jesus praises. An up-dated but innocent example
of the children of this world being enterprising is the department store clerk
who had broken all sales records. Modestly disclaiming credit, he explained to
his boss, A customer came in, and I sold him some fishhooks. You will need a
line for those hooks, I said, and sold him some line. Then I told him, You
have to have a rod to go with the line, and I sold him a rod. You aught to
have a boat so you can use your new rod in deep water, I suggested, and sold
him a boat. Next I told him, Youll need a boat trailer and he fell for that
too. Finally, I said, How will you pull the trailer without a car? and guess
what? He bought my car. And the boss said, But I assigned you to the
greetings card department. That is right, the
salesman nodded. This customer came to me for a get-well card for his girl,
who had a broken hip. When I heard that I said to him, You havent got
anything to do for six weeks, so you might as well go fishing.
Harold Buetow in God still speaks: Listen!
May we be as astute for Gods kingdom as we are in acquiring material things!
Fr. Jude Botelho
www.netforlife.net
PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been
collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and
from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever
possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you
could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in
these reflections. These reflections are also available on my web site
www.netforlife.net Thank you.
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