Weekend Reflections for 11/13/20

Faithful Commitment

Sunday's first reading from the Book of Proverbs describes a loving woman who has dedicated herself to her husband and family. She is to be praised and valued for her fidelity and generous spirit. In the Gospel parable Jesus speaks of the committed servants who put their master's benefit as their priority and they are well rewarded.

Most of us were baptized as infants and our parents and godparents made the commitment of faith on our behalf. As young adults we confirmed that at our Confirmation and later most of us added vows of marriage, religious life or ordination. When we make such commitments, we are saying that other options are no longer available to us. So we live our lives with the choices we have made and try to be faithful to them.

In my own life and in my work with others I have come to see how the evil one loves to torment us with the sinful infidelities of our younger years. Those are written in the sand at the seashore and erased with every wave of God's love. Our fidelity is written in stone and lasts forever and that's all God sees when He looks at us.

The evil one tempts us sometimes to wonder "What if...or "If only..." I had made other choices. That can lead to regrets and dissatisfaction with who I've become and the life I am living. We are invited by God to remember that He has always been with us, guiding and guarding and making us into the faithful and committed followers He has called us to be.

Fr. Ralph Huse, S.J.