Opening Prayer 7:05-7:10
Lord, you promised that when two or three of us are gathered in your name, you are there,
Well, we are here – multiples of 2 or 3, asking your blessings to be poured out
upon those for whom we have asked for your help tonight...
SPECIAL INTENTIONS … (the materially rich)
Lord, please send your love, healing, guidance, and protection upon those intentions we have just put before You.
(moment of silence)
We pray for the health and safety of all those experiencing danger or suffering in the world, whether
by natural causes or human causes.
We pray for all those who were hurt by the Covid virus; and those who died from it.
Please help to put this disease behind us and help us rebuild a better world than we had before.
Lord, you know our greatest needs so we also ask you to send your wise blessings to each one of us here tonight.
Help us to learn to walk with you every minute of our day
for we know such a partnership with you will carry us through every difficulty, and enable us to bring goodness to every encounter, and in the end deliver us to your doorstep.
Lord, You have asked us to study your Word diligently, so we have come here tonight to do just that.
Help us understand your Word and apply Your wisdom in our daily lives.
And, as we pray at the start of every Mass:
The Confiteor I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do –
through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault.
Therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.
Tonight
10 Min Journeys through the Mass
The Parable of the Talents
House notes/rules…
1. The Zoom Meeting Logon information is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952
2. The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog, usually within a day. Taylor will demonstrate.
3. See The Chosen. Knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check it out: The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
4. Member relations. Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ. I owe a part of my return to the faith to them. We have Protestants and former Protestants in our group and so let’s be loving and courteous when we are discussing doctrinal differences.
5. No politics. It would be easy to self-destruct; however, that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn the Bible, explain the Catholic faith particularly as it comes from the Bible, and bring people into a closer relationship with Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
6. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can email the group via Meetup, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net.
Bible Study Format
Week 1: Oct 5 – Gospel Readings: Jesus and Herod
Week 2: Oct 12 – Bible Narrative Exegesis from Genesis to Revelations: Finish Noah & the Ark, Tower of Babel (Chs.9, 11)
Week 3: Oct 19 – Topic of Choice – Jesus’ Great Parables: The Parable of the Talents (Matt 25:14-30)
Week 4: Oct 26 – Open Mic – What are your faith obstacles, either in your personal or work life? Send other questions to Ron.
Bible Topics Survey Results 1. Jesus’ Greatest Parables 2. Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3. Christian Comparisons 4. Great Women in the Bible 5. Why is there suffering in the world 6. Compare World Religions 7. Revelations
The Jewish faith was the faith of Jesus and so Jewish history is our history. It is useful to see the religious holidays religious Jews celebrate.
Next: Nov 28-Dec 6: Hanukah (from the book of Maccabees)
10 Minute Journey through the Mass, “The Source and Summit of Christian Life” – CCC #1324-27 9:10-9:20
1) The Sign of the Cross – we invite the Holy Trinity into ourselves and into our gathered community.
2) The Lord Be With You, And With Your Spirit – Jesus and the Holy Spirit are invited into, and interacting with us in the Mass.
3) Confiteor – in our preparation for our encounter with God, we confess our sins to Him and to each other.
The Confiteor (continued)
Last week we talked about “in my thoughts” which is where the other three – in our words, what we did, what we failed to do – originate; and that managing our thoughts is the both the greatest power humans have, and the most underutilized. This called to mind Plato’s Allegory of the Chariot, revised by Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, with the chariot, charioteer, and horses and reins symbolizing the whole person (our soul).
Plato’s Allegory of the Chariot
Jewish/OT philosophy would agree with this adding that the Fall of Man (“fall from grace”) weakened the intellect’s control (will) over one’s desires which caused man to give in to his lower, animal (6th Day) desires, making him less “like” God. This then triggered further negative (selfish) emotions that affected all those around him, affecting all humanity negatively. The hatred, violence, and atrocities humans have committed against themselves since then only continued to widen the gap between God and Man. This growing despair could only be mitigated by God’s promise of the Messiah to fix this mess.
Christian philosophy agrees with all this, but then the Messiah came! What Jesus Christ brought was the fix that could reverse man’s fortunes: to bridge the chasm between God and Man and satisfy “justice” by him offering up his life on our behalf, much the way a parent would do for their child. This opened the door for God to send us his Holy Spirit to help us the rest of the way. Baptism initiates this process by giving us not only the HS but the grace we lost, and we get to start the heavenly journey over again. On the one hand, the journey is still hard, isn’t it? As Paul says, we always seem to come up short on what God wants. But that’s the beauty of Christ – he came to bridge that gap for us, no matter how much we fall short; all we need to do is hang in there and keep Him with us. Don’t let go!
What we have failed to do…
In the final evaluation of our conscience the Confiteor, we ask for forgiveness for the things we have failed to do. Another way of saying this is for the love I have failed to give.
Q: What kind sins are we talking about?
Sins of omission. It is the things we might have done, but didn’t. Opportunities to be kind when we are busy, lending a helping hand when we don’t like the person, skipping our prayers because we have too much to do, not volunteering our time for a good cause because it’s our free time, and so on.
Q: There’s another name for this sin – one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Which is it?
Pride Anger Lust Envy Gluttony Avarice (greed) Sloth
Coincidentally, this leads us right into today’s Parable of the Talents.
Context
Jesus is in Jerusalem at the end of his ministry, early in Holy Week. We most often hear about Palm Sunday when he enters Jerusalem on a colt, and then next we hear about the Last Supper . But for several days in between these, Jesus is at the temple grounds preaching some pretty hard stuff – parables, predictions (i.e., the fall of the Temple), and the cleansing of the Temple – all of which will lead to his arrest.
In the parables on this particular day, he is talking about the Kingdom of God. “The Kingdom of God is like…” is the preface to these parables. So, the Parable of the Talents is about the Kingdom of Heaven.
The parable uses a financial reference – “talents” in its analogy.
Q: Who can remember what a talent is, and a denarius?
A denarius was a term that referred to a day’s wage (plural-denarii). So, 6 denarii would be a week’s pay (for 6 days).
A “talent” was a unit of weight, approximately 80 lbs. When applied to precious metals, it is a lot of money! For example, 80 lbs. of silver was worth 6000 denarii – or 6000 days’ wages. 6000 days divided by 365 days in a year would be about 15 years of pay.
How much money would 15 years pay be, adjusted for inflation? If we used an annual pay of $50,000, then $50,000 x 15 = $750,000. So, one talent would be worth $750,000.
You don’t need to know all this for the story. All you need to know that a talent is not a little bit of money. It’s 15 years’ worth of pay!
The Parable of the Talents – Matthew 25:14-30
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was travelling into a far country, who called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Immediately, the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
Likewise, the one who received two talents made another two talents.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.
And he that had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, “Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Come, share your master’s joy.”
Then he who had received two talents also came forward and said, “Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Come, share your master’s joy.”
Then he who had received the one talent came forward and said, “Master, I knew you were a hard man, reaping where you had not sown, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; and being afraid, I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is back.”
And his master said to him in reply, “You wicked and lazy servant; so you knew that I harvested where I did not plant and gathered where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in a bank so that I could have received my own money back with interest?
So then, take the talent away from him and give it to the one that has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into the exterior darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Remember, in all Jesus’ parables, there are unusual statements (sometimes called “twists”) in the story that don’t make sense; at least not to his audience at that time. These ‘twists’ indicate that something is going on – there is a different meaning involved.
Let’s break the parable down part by part.
For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was travelling into a far country, who called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Q: His audience will initially think he is talking about money. What is the first hint – or twist – indicating that this might not be the case?
Each according to his ability. So, what might these talents represent?
All our gifts from God – both natural/physical and spiritual abilities.
Immediately, the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
Likewise, the one who received two talents made another two talents.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
Q: Who is the Master and who are the servants?
God and us
Q: What might the varying amount of “talents” being given to each servant mean?
We are not equal. In God’s creation, there is endless diversity, which gives rise to beauty – because of all our differences. If creation – the moon and the stars, nature, music, or us – were all the same, how boring would that be?
Mind you, we are all equal in God’s eyes. The janitor is equal to the President. But we are not equal to each other.
After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.
And he that had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, “Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Come, share your master’s joy.”
Then he who had received two talents also came forward and said, “Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.”
His master said to him, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Come, share your master’s joy.”
Q: What did the first two servants do that made the Master so happy? Was it that they made more money for him?
1. They increased the kingdom of God within: once we are baptized, we begin our journey with God in this life. It is a continual spiritual learning experience that plays out in this life of ours. We continue to grow and grow to where there is no more you without God; you are inseparable. This is how the first two servants doubled their talents. This growth also informs everything in #2.
2. They increased the kingdom of God without: they used their physical abilities and spiritual gifts (love of/service to others) to expand God’s kingdom by being good, kind, generous, and forgiving towards others in all their encounters, large and small. Others want to follow people like this because they are the qualities everyone wants in the end – goodness, love, kindness, etc. – it’s a part of our image of God. This is also how the first two servants doubled their talents.
Q: What does “Come, share your master’s joy” mean?
The Kingdom of Heaven. Elsewhere, it is compared to a king’s banquet, or a wedding feast. It’s not just “eternity” it is something much more. The unspeakable joy known previously only to God will now be shared with us.
Compare this to what we know in this life: a certain level of happiness, hopefully, for some. But also anxiety over tomorrow, over the weather, of the job, over the family, over the bills, over our health, over others in our lives? And this is for those of us who are fortunate.
The servant is no longer the servant – the Master now gives his joy to him.
Then he who had received the one talent came forward and said, “Master, I knew you were a hard man, reaping where you had not sown, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; and being afraid, I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here it is back.”
And his master said to him in reply, “You wicked and lazy servant; so you knew that I harvested where I did not plant and gathered where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in a bank so that I could have received my own money back with interest?
Q: This servant accused his Master was a hard man, so does he fear his him? He accuses his Master of reaping and sowing what wasn’t his … is he suggesting his Master of being a thief? Is God a thief?
Thief..? No, God can’t be a thief because He created the universe so everything is his. Besides, didn’t the Master give him a “talent”?
Fear..? God is great, indeed – awesome. How would someone view God who does not trust Him nor seek a relationship with Him? They would fear Him. We fear what we don’t know.
Q: Where else in scripture do we see others who view of God as unfair and fearful?
Adam & Eve hid themselves from God. Cain is another one.
Jesus says goodness seeks the light, and we don’t put light under a basket but up high up so that our goodness can give light to others.
When we are selfish, when we sin, we hide, just like the man with one talent. Sin (selfishness; acts against love of others/God) distorts the truth, and it distorts one’s view of God, who is the source of truth.
Q: What did the 3rd servant do that caused the Master’s response?
The servant is being accused of just living for himself. He has done nothing good with what God gave him. The world would have been better off if he hadn’t lived, because only love gives value to life.
So then, take the talent away from him and give it to the one that has ten talents. For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Now throw this useless servant into the exterior darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Q: What does this mean: “And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."
This is an Old Testament reference to being separated from God. It actually is the choice of each human. If they have chosen to live without God in this life, then they will be granted that in the next. However, the three greatest gifts to humans – faith, hope, and love – will no longer be part of their life. Those were for partnering with God.
Q: When we think of sin, we usually think of acts we commit (commission). Acts of commission would be lying, cheating, stealing, betraying, etc. But the 3rd servant did none of these. What is he guilty of?
His whole life was an act of omission. He failed to do anything good. He failed to love.
Q: The sin of omission has another name. It is one of the 7 Deadly Sins. What is it?
Sloth. The failure to do good and love others, starting with our everyday encounters with every human being, expanding into inconvenient acts of kindness, and then expanding from there. If you maintain a dialogue with God, he will keep teeing things up for you.
Q: What was another key in this parable?
“For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
The more one generates more goodness and love in this life will be given even more grace while they are still in this world and will simultaneously store up greater heavenly rewards.
Q: What is the ultimate message of this parable?
It doesn’t matter what cards (talents) we’ve been dealt in this life; it’s what we do with them that matters. Everyone is capable of love and service. How much we have materially-speaking does count in the end.
Q: The question was asked, where does the sin of sloth begin?
Any relationship without regular commication is a dying relationship. Omitting prayer (formal or informal) from one’s daily life is to omit communication with God. No communication, no relationship, no presence, no grace.
It is often the busyness of our life that tends to pull us away. Meanwhile, Satan is helping to pile up the distractions and obligations in your mind, so that you will do just that.
Closing Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
O Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai, we love you with all our minds, all our hearts, all our souls, and all our strength.
We know that with You, there are no obstacles, no defeats, no doubts, no non-performances,
no suffering, no death or threats of death, that can separate us. Our Adversary will surely trip us up occasionally, mug us unexpectedly, but we know if we stick with you, you will use these for increasing our strength and wisdom.
Lord, we wish to give you all today’s problems, accomplishments, aspirations, and failures, and ask you to bless them all and edify us; but, mostly, we wish to end our day emptied, grateful, and surrendered in your presence.
Lord our God, King of the universe, You bring light out of darkness and ordain the order of all creation.
You are the Alpha and the Omega of all goodness, truth, and wisdom; … of my mind, body, and soul; of life; …
and of this one eternal day which starts anew every time the sun rises.
How can we possibly end this day without thanking You?
Hail Mary
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