Fr. Bob's Reflection for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - Guest Post

A little girl sits beneath a tree with her mother on a warm afternoon. Her mother has given her a glass of lemonade and two cookies. A neighbor girl, about the same age, walks over and quietly looks at the cookies. There is plenty of lemonade to share, but no extra cookies. Hoping to encourage kindness, the mother gently asks, “Would you like to give Katie one of your cookies?” “No,” little Angie replies quickly. “They’re mine.” And she repeats it again: “Mine.” It becomes clear that no sharing will happen unless the mother steps in. For children, learning to share can be difficult. When a cookie is at stake, reasoning does not always go very far. You can explain to a child, “Mommy gave you those cookies, and now Mommy wants you to share them.” But children do not always think that way. In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Apostles, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” The disciples had been given the power to heal the sick and cast out demons, and Jesus instructs them to use those gifts freely, without seeking reward or recognition. What they received as a gift was meant to be shared as a gift. The same is true for the little girl and the cookies. She did not buy them or bake them herself. They were given to her. It seems only right, then, that she might share one with someone who has none. It may seem like a small lesson, but unless she learns to share, she risks remaining trapped in a very small world – one centered only on herself, her wants and her needs. Most of us work hard for what we have. We earn our paychecks, and rightly so. That income provides food, shelter, transportation and security. We have worked for those things. But my friends, consider this: even the ability to rise each morning, go to work and use our talents is itself a gift. Life is a gift. I’ll share part of my own story. To become a priest, I completed four years of college and four years of graduate studies. I earned my degrees through hard work. But I did not create the physical health, mental ability or opportunities that made those studies possible. Those were gifts. The Lord has blessed us with countless gifts that we often take for granted – sight, hearing, speech, freedom, opportunity and faith. Those of us living in the United States enjoy freedoms many people throughout the world can only dream about. We can worship freely, speak freely and shape our future. We have so much to be grateful for. The question is: what do we do with these gifts? Do we cling to them like the little girl holding tightly to her cookies, concerned only with ourselves, our comfort and our desires? Or do we recognize that the gifts God gives us are meant to be shared? Famous author Mary Higgins Clark, who was a dear friend and generous benefactor of the Friars, once shared words with me that have always stayed close to my heart: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” My friends, do not live with closed hands or closed hearts. Instead, be open-hearted. Become people who give generously, recognizing how generously God has first given to you. Yours in Christ, Fr. Robert Warren, S.A. Spiritual Director