Today’s parable tells us something about how God deals with us, his disciples and servants. The parable speaks first of the master’s trust in his servants. While he goes away, he leaves them with his money to use as they think best. The master rewards those who are industrious and faithful and he punishes those who sit by idly and who do nothing with his money. The essence of the parable seems to lie in the servants’ conception of responsibility. Each servant entrusted with the master’s money was faithful up to a certain point. The servant who buried the master’s money was irresponsible. The master expected his servants to be productive in the use of his money. The Lord entrusts the subjects of his kingdom with gifts and graces and he gives his subjects the freedom to use them in a fitting way.

Jesus trusted and gave each according to his ability or talents. The only thing is – how do we use them? In the parable we see two groups of people – one group is making use of the talents and the other group is not making use of the talents that they received. Where do we stand? We all have talents which vary, everybody doesn’t have the same talents. The question is whether we are ready to share them with others or to hide them under the ground, meaning not ready to share with others. We are all unique and all are different in personality, so therefore, everybody has different talents, too. Do not compare with one person or another at any time. All are individual, unique persons. Humanity is common to all; everything else is different in each person.

Are we satisfied with the talents we have, or do we always complain about our talents? Keep in mind that we can never be another person, because we are what we are. Try to find satisfaction in what we have and what God has given to us. Make use of the talents for others and not for us alone. Try to satisfy God, not man. You cannot satisfy man in this world – because we are all different. God always sees the goodness in our hearts. Man sees only the outside. Many times, we commit a sin or a big mistake without realizing it – then we ask ourselves what would others think of us? Because of that we can do nothing properly, nothing can be accomplished. Let us ask ourselves, what would my Jesus think about me? You will be happy and accomplish many things in this world, and the Master will tell you: “Well done, my good and faithful servant ….. Come; share your master’s joy.”

Love and Prayers,

Fr. Charley

In today’s story, let us focus on the lamp and the oil. All the ten virgins were given lamps. Let us say these lamps are freely given by the Lord. The lamp is the “life” given to us by God free of cost. Now we have to buy the oil to light the lamp and take it to heaven.

It is this oil that we need to enter into the heavenly banquet. Therefore, what could this oil be that will help us to take this life to the other world? In short, it could be the sum total of the goodness (the virtues) we performed and the deposit of prayers we made.

When we pray, actually we are depositing those prayers with God. And so, whenever we are in need of prayers, God will consider these deposited prayers for us. The wise virgins were not ready to share their oil with the others. Meaning to say, we may not be lucky enough to get some prayers from others when we may need them. Today is the right time to start depositing prayers with God. Spend more time for personal prayer that you may benefit from them later for yourself! This is the right time to prepare. If not, there may come a time which is too late!

The foolish virgins are asking the wise ones for some of their oil, but they were so selfish that they didn’t want to share any at all. Don’t be so selfish. Perhaps their sharing might have helped the others to enter the heavenly banquet with the bridegroom. Once again, this oil is the deposit of prayers. Therefore, don’t be stingy to pray for others that they may enter the heavenly banquet. This month of November, we are specially reminded of our own duty to pray for our brethren, especially for the departed souls, that they may meet God face to face.

Those virgins who never expected a delay in the Lord’s coming are called fools! What about you, are you a fool or a wise person? Do you expect things to happen as you want and at the time you want? Can you expect delays? Are you prepared to wait for the delay of God’s answer to you? We must be prepared for the delays and be waiting with the oil of prayers and deeds of charity.

Expect delays in God’s responses and so be prepared always.

God bless you all in abundance,

Fr. Charley

All Saints’ Day is a Christian festival that honors all those people who are considered saints by the church. The festival was originally celebrated on May 13, but Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel at the Vatican in honor of all the saints. The festival goes back to the fourth century when Greek Christians kept a festival on the first Sunday after Pentecost in honor of all martyrs and saints. The festival is also known as All Hallows’ Day, the Feast of All Saints, and Hallowmas. On this day, Catholics are expected to attend Mass. It is an obligation day for us. All Saints’ Day, observed in the Christian church, is a day dedicated to commemorating all the saints—both known and unknown—who have attained heaven. The history of this day dates back to the 4th century, when Romans, amidst increasing persecution of Christians, began dedicating their own days to celebrate the martyrs and saints they admired. However, it wasn’t until the 7th century under Pope Boniface IV that All Saints’ Day was officially
established as a holiday.
All Souls’ Day is a Christian tradition to remember and pray for the dead, especially those in Purgatory, on November 2. All Souls’ Day, in Roman Catholicism, is a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to fit them for the vision of God in heaven, and the day is dedicated to prayer and remembrance. Requiem Masses are commonly held, and many
people visit and sometimes decorate the graves of loved ones. The date, which became practically universal before the end of the 13th century, was chosen to follow All Saints’ Day. Having celebrated the feast of all the members of the church who are believed to be in heaven, the church on earth turns, on the next day, to commemorate those souls believed to be suffering in purgatory.
We shall remember our beloved ones not only on All Soul’s Day but all the days of our lives. When we pray for them, we have to teach our children to do the same, so that in the future, there will be someone to pray for us. You know that people already gone from this world can do nothing—that is why the church is asking the living ones to pray for the dead. Visiting a Cemetery on the day of All Souls also provides an indulgence. A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted each and every day from November 1st to Nov 8th, through those who devoutly visit a cemetery and there pray, if only mentally, for the departed; on other days of the year, it is partial. We shall visit as many as we can and save the souls in purgatory.

Love and prayers,

Fr. Charley

Jesus summarized the whole of the law in two great commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

We need to love God. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength in response to His total love for us, means that we should place God’s will ahead of ours, seek the Lord’s will in all things, and make it paramount in our lives. There are several means by which we can express our love for God and our gratitude to Him for His blessings, acknowledging our total dependence on Him. God loves us wholly, completely, and perfectly for our sake—there is no limit, no holding back, no compromising on his part. His love is not subject to changing moods or circumstances. When God gives, he gives generously, abundantly, freely, and without setting conditions to the gift of his love. His love does not waver, but is firm, consistent, and constant. He loves us in our weakness—in our fallen and sinful condition. That is why the Father sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem us from slavery to sin and its disordered cravings, desires, passions, and addictions. We do not earn God’s love—it is freely given to those who open their hearts to God and who freely accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. We need to love our neighbor: God’s will is that we should love everyone, seeing Him in each of them. Since every human being is a child of God and the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, we are giving expression to our love of God by loving our neighbor as Jesus loves him or her.

On the wall of a children’s home founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta hangs a sign which reads as follows:

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. LOVE THEM ANYWAY.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. DO GOOD ANYWAY.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. SUCCEED ANYWAY.
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow. DO GOOD ANYWAY.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight. BUILD ANYWAY.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them. HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY.

Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we shall love God as well as our neighbor as Jesus told us to do. Love of God and love of Neighbor—always two sides of the same coin. They should go hand in hand, never separate at any time, going together only.

With God’s Blessing to all,

Fr. Charley

Most strikingly, in the Gospel reading, we hear what Jesus does when he knows he is walking into a trap. This trap presents
what could be an unresolvable challenge to personal loyalty. What is owed to Caesar and what is owed to God? In response,
Jesus speaks the truth in a simple way. He asks those around him to consider the standards by which they owe things to an
authority, in other words, where their loyalties lie. Jesus helps them—and us—acknowledge that while we owe our loyalty
ultimately to God, we often must honor that by respecting our duties toward others.

Discipleship requires us to consider to whom I belong: where my loyalties lie, and whom I must serve. Surely each of us is
called and strives to remain faithful to some duties in our own place—towards our families, jobs, neighborhoods, and friends.
But if we are to take our faith seriously, we are also concerned about others who are far away from us. These connections to
others pull on us especially when we see them in light of our personal relationship with Jesus. As Christians, we are invested
with duties of love for people we have never met and to places we have never been, which is the theme at the heart of the
readings for today, World Mission Sunday. That is part of the work of mission: to deepen the connections that already exist
between me and someone far away from me to whom I am united in Christ.

Perhaps this person is already a Christian and so we are mystically united by our common baptism. Or maybe this person is
just now learning of Christ (or desires to know of Christ) and that introduction will be made possible by the work of people
who are sent to share the Good News with them. This appreciation might even help me to find the energy and interest to
collaborate in work that I personally cannot do because I have responsibilities where I am and cannot go to those places and
meet those people. But I can be part of the work through supportive prayer and practical charity. May the grace we receive in
this Eucharist help us all to learn the truth of these loyalties, responsibilities, and connections. And going from this place of
worship may we find the energy to deepen our personal commitment to our common Christian mission to announce Christ
and his Gospel to all the world.

Let us join our Holy Father Pope Francis in praying for and sharing resources with the young, persecuted, and poor Church
in over 1,100 dioceses around the world that benefit from the World Mission Sunday collection, taken in every Catholic par-
ish today, no matter how big or small (The Society for the Propagation of Faith).

Love and Prayers,
Fr. Charley

One of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is like is the wedding celebration and royal feast
given by the King for his son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven is the Feast of all Feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to the most important banquet of all—not simply as bystanders or guests—but as
members of Christ’s own body, his bride the church! In the last book, Revelation, we see the same kind of invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb—Jesus Christ the Son of God who offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, who invites and
tells us “Come.” The Lord Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly kingdom of peace and righteousness.

Jesus’ parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king had sent
out invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to then refuse when the time for celebrating came! Because they put their own interests above his
invitation and denied the Feast, they not only insulted the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king’s anger is justified
because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due.

The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and who would never have considered getting
such an invitation. The “good and the bad” along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews) and to sinners. This
is certainly an invitation of grace—undeserved, unmerited, favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for
those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God’s grace is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.

The opening of Heaven on earth is called Mass. During the Mass that is what happens; the whole heaven will be opened in front of
us. Every day on the altar of the Lord, the Father prepares the Wedding Feast of his own and is inviting you and me to come
and to take part in it. Do we really understand that? Do we try to make time to go and celebrate that feast together with His
Son? We are invited for it every day. When we were all little, we used to go to the church everyday no matter whether it was
cold or raining. Parents used to go for the early Mass at 5:30 AM and the kids would get up and go for the following Mass, like
6:30 or 7 AM. After taking part in the Holy Eucharist, we would go to school or others go to their jobs. The Holy Eucharist is part
and parcel of our day-to-day lives. If we don’t go for Mass, it is as if we lost the whole day. Try not to refuse the invitation at
any time. It is the Grace that we receive from that, and that Grace makes us stronger and stronger in our Faith and in Christ
Jesus.

With gratitude, love, and prayers,
Fr. Charley