The master commended that dishonest steward

8 NOVEMBER (Lk 16,1-8)

The administrator is charged with responsibility. The goods are not his, they do not belong to him. They are his master’s. He is entrusted with them so that he makes them bear fruit. The first good to be administered is our life. It has been entrusted, delivered to us, so that we produce true fruits of eternal life. But God has given us not only life, he has also entrusted to our stewardship the whole creation so that from it life for all living things the Lord has made, is drawn. One animal that dies because creation was administered in a foolish way, makes us responsible before God. For each species going extinct because of us, we are responsible for this as well.

God has also delivered his Church all the mysteries of his grace and truth. These mysteries must be administered with great care, vigilance, attention, insight and infinite wisdom. Saint Paul is the illuminator and theologian of the true, wise and holy administration is. He always seen himself as the true administrator of the mysteries of God. He sees himself as a true administrator and he wants everyone to see him that way. He also wants every bishop in the Church of God to be as real and valid an administrator as he is.

Paul, a slave of God and apostle of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones and the recognition of religious truth, in the hope of eternal life that God, who does not lie, promised before time began, who indeed at the proper time revealed his word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted by the command of God our savior, to Titus, my true child in our common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior. For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you, on condition that a man be blameless, married only once, with believing children who are not accused of licentiousness or rebellious. For a bishop as God’s steward must be blameless, not arrogant, not irritable, not a drunkard, not aggressive, not greedy for sordid gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, temperate, just, holy, and self-controlled, holding fast to the true message as taught so that he will be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents (Tt 1,1-9).

Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord. Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God (1Cor 4,1-5).

Every man who comes into this world is called to administer wisely the goods of this world. These are not his. They are all of the Lord. Starting from their own lives and ending at everything that one has and produces, everything is a gift from God. These gifts were given us so that we produce with them other gifts to be put in the service of God in favour of any other man. To deprive one man of the goods of God is depriving us of the highest good which is God himself. We give our goods to our brothers and God gives himself to us as the supreme, divine, eternal gift of love, truth, justice and holiness.

Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.

Virgin Mary, Mother of the Redemption, Angels and Saints make us be a pure gift.