Use your virtues well

“Maria was a homemaker,” simply stated her obituary, when she recently died. The obituary did not state how much Maria loved being a homemaker! Nothing gave her greater happiness than to cook the family’s nightly meal and to add extras each Sunday afternoon as many relatives stopped by for the traditional Italian Dinner. She enjoyed the tasty and wonderful meals herself and added to the delight of the meal with many funny stories of the family history.

She appreciated the noisy conversation of each person and loved the gleam in her husband’s eyes as each evening she pressed his shirt and pants for work the next day, as well as her special clothing for the day. She loved to assist her children in learning to help her and new tasks to broaden their knowledge and skills of family and home life.

The family was a happy place, with happy people surrounded by active love and devotion for one another. She had been taught by her third grade teacher the words of Abe Lincoln, “Whatever you are, be a good one!” So, Maria was building the kingdom of God in her present moment and from the good use of her gifts.

How well are you doing with your gifts? This is the great question of Scripture this week, Are you diligent in being and doing, for the Lord is coming? No task is too small when it is done well.

Our great parable from the Gospel of Matthew is all about the proper development of our gifts! Our first reading from Proverbs is all about a worthy wife like in the first story about Maria; the story of the worthy wife who does her duty while finding time to grow personally and share with her less fortunate neighbors. St. Paul states do your best each day for the Lord is coming and while you do not know the day the fact of His coming is definite. We call the last coming the Eschatological Coming Of The Lord! This is the end of the world, the coming of the Son of Man on the Last Day, the Last Judgment, and the arrival of God’s kingdom in its fullness.

The big question the Lord will ask will be, “What did you do with the gifts I have given you?” Have you used your virtues and talents well?

In the Gospel, the people were given a lot of money for that time. The gift of a talent was a certain weight of silver or gold; it was a good amount of money so that one could do a special good deed and do it well. The master does not tell them what to do, but expects them to follow the example he had always shown them, the use of time and talent wisely until he returns. The master was giving them money, not in order to get it back, but as a personal gift to each of them, but they did not know that at the time of the gift.

So, we too may not realize it but we have been gifted and we are expected to use these gifts well or so we will be judged as

losers at the Final Judgement! In particular, Jesus wants us to use our talents to honor the Father and for the good of each other. That was how He lived and did His life’s ministry as the God Man. Thus, Jesus hopes we will use our special talents and faith to fulfill the two great commandments and not just for ourselves, or we will deeply regret our laziness and failures to act well.

“The big question the Lord will ask will be, “What did you do with the gifts I have given you? Have you used your virtues and talents well?”