"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)

Mt 25:14-30

Jesus told his disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, 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. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money. After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who 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 in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy. 'Then the one 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 in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy. 'Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.Here it is back. 'His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 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. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"

When I read this Gospel, I ask myself: am I useful to God? Does God have any good use for me and satisfaction with my life? A simple yes or no is not enough to answer this question, here an examination of conscience is needed, which will be an account not so much of desires and good intentions, because we all always have these in our hearts, but of specific actions, actions aimed at deepening our faith, concrete attitudes of love and mercy towards God and other people. The useless servant thought that nothing could be done with what he had received, that everything could be justified by fear and that the master would pull down the veil of silence over everything over his laziness. Unfortunately, he miscalculated, and people who think the same way about God will also miscalculate. People who think conservatively about God, build their faith on the false humility and false tranquility thinking that confession once a year is enough, who reduce their piety to blessing a basket of food for Easter. They buried their talent somewhere, stopped in spiritual development. Unfortunately, many Christians have become accustomed to the image of a peaceful God who demands nothing, is somewhere in heaven and does not interfere too much in people's lives. They treat faith as an abstraction, while it is a risk, an investment in the development of myself and the world, which thanks to my faith becomes better, more beautiful. Those who take risks move forward, those who increase their faith become richer before God and will be exalted by Him, receive joy and happiness from God. Who overcomes himself, his fear and kneels in front of the confessional confessing his sins, who is not afraid to testify about God at home, work, among people, who prays for himself and others, who feeds on Jesus’s Body, breaks his egoism and hastens to help to those in need, he already invests in his eternity here on earth and multiplies spiritual goods that become an invisible treasure in heaven. Even if sometimes we fail and we lose our talents, we give them away, we don't always choose God, we fall into sins, God is not scandalized by us and gives us a new chance, if only we sincerely repent and rise from our falls. Because faith must be fought for, shaped not only in our spiritual successes, but also in our failures, which, if we live them well and draw conclusions, can become our spiritual benefit. The most important thing, however, is not to be afraid and not to withdraw. Normally, humanly speaking, we would approve of this last servant. He didn't gain anything, but he didn't lose anything either, the bill comes to zero, except that God doesn't care about zero. You can't be zero before God, bring nothing, because God didn't give you faith to bury it now, He gave you life, health, the ability to do good, with which you have to do something, let them trade, invest. God is generous with you, are you responsible and ready to respond to this generosity? Is your Christian life paying off or moldy under the veil of various other things and realities? What we are and what we have is our material from which God wants to create something lasting, beautiful and wonderful. However, he wants our cooperation and commitment, without which there will be no good fruit. Faith is something you have to put, to invest somewhere. God shows us certain sources: prayer, the Church, the sacraments, mercy, helping our neighbor, which are the bank of His grace. All you have to do is put your talent there, and you won't lose it.

Father Marcin Cwierz, OSPPE

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"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience," (Col 3:12)