The Good Word

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time CSeptember 21, 2025 Hello and welcome to the Word, bringing you the Good News of Jesus Christ every day from the Redemptorists of the Baltimore Province. I am Fr. Karl Esker from the Basilica of our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY. Today is the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our reading today is from the holy gospel according to Luke Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.' He called in his master's debtors one by one. To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.' Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.' The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.' And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon."The gospel of the Lord.Homily The parable in today’s gospel is not a homey metaphor we often expect from Jesus’ parables. It is a brutal presentation of class exploitation and an example of the lengths to which an unscrupulous person will go for self-preservation. Still, Jesus is able to find a positive message in the actions of the unjust steward and bemoans the fact that those dedicated to the kingdom of God are not as single-minded. We need to understand that the size of the debts in the parable was very large and would be difficult to pay back. The steward had erred in allowing his master’s clients to accumulate such large debts. And then, to ingratiate himself with those same clients, he reduces their debts, also by large amounts. We can imagine the shock and joy on the faces of the debtors as their debts were written down. More difficult is imagining the face of the master. He could have lost money, but overnight his reputation had gone from Mr. Scrooge to Santa Claus. The townspeople would be telling everyone what a good guy he was. And in Jesus’ neighborhood, that kind of capital was worth more than the money. The point Jesus was trying to make is that even an unjust steward can be good to his neighbors, when his own life is on the line; and he questions why it is so difficult for his disciples to be good to one another, when eternal life is on the line? Jesus seems to be saying that the goods of this earth are to be used in building up and caring for one another, and if we cannot learn the proper use of the goods of the earth, how will we ever learn to use the spiritual goods of God’s kingdom? Taking advantage of one another seems to be rooted in our human nature since the fall of Adam and Eve. In the first reading, the prophet Amos condemns those “who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!” Even though they kept the Sabbath and the holy days, they were anxious for them to be over, so that they could get back to making a profit. And yet we admire people like Mother Theresa of Calcutta and Dorothy Day for their dedication to serving the poor. Jesus tells us that admiration is not enough; we need to imitate their virtue. In the second reading, Saint Paul gives us one of the roads to the goods of the kingdom: Prayer. “Beloved: I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” We must ask God for the graces of justice, kindness and mercy for our leaders as well as for ourselves. And he continues: “It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.” And then we must set about turning into reality the things that we have prayed for, ser

Sometimes a small step in the wrong direction can be magnified by factors such as greed and willful moral blindness. This was the case seventy years before St. Peter Claver was born to a farming family outside of Barcelona, Spain in 1580. King Ferdinand of Spain authorized the purchase of 250 African slaves in Lisbon for his territories in New Spain. One hundred years later, 10,000 African slaves were arriving every year to the New Kingdom of Granada, today known as Columbia. The king’s small decision to supposedly help farmers and landowners in New Spain meet their need for laborers allowed the slave trade to grow to epidemic proportions throughout the Americas. St. Peter’s life’s work as a Jesuit priest was helping the men and women who arrived sick, exhausted, and maltreated to the port city of Cartagena. He would meet the ships upon their arrival and go down into the holds where the human cargo was packed tightly together. It is estimated that one third of the men and women died in transit. Peter would carry medicine, food, bread, and lemons to those who survived. He attended to their human needs first and then, over time, tried his best to meet their spiritual needs. Peter also preached the Gospel message to the merchants, sailors, and ship owners. He tried to impress upon them that we are all human beings and that we have a common need to be treated with dignity and respect. When he visited the plantations where the African slaves were working, he would stay with them rather than in the comfortable homes of the landowners. He preached in the city squares, country areas, and was often among the sick in the hospitals. Fellow Jesuit Fr. John Hardon could have been reflecting on the life of Peter Claver when he wrote: “Love is shown more in deeds than in words. Love does not mean that I like doing what I’m doing, love means that I do it, and the doing is your love.” Over the course of his life, the conservative estimate is that Peter baptized 300,000 people - and he continued his instructions after they were baptized by distributing holy pictures and having translators help him to preach. He heard 5,000 confessions on a yearly basis. It should be no surprise that his last years were filled with ill health. Unable to leave his room, his community assigned an ex-slave to attend to his needs. Unfortunately, this man mistreated Fr. Claver and stole his food. Peter did not complain, seeing his ill treatment as a penance for his sins. When he died on September 8, 1654, word spread quickly. People came from all over the countryside to visit his room, which was soon stripped of everything that might be considered a relic. His life was such a heroic example of the Christian praxis of love and the exercise of human rights that September 9th, the day after Peter’s death, is celebrated today in Columbia as Human Rights Day. St. Peter Claver, friend of the marginalized and oppressed, pray for us. Blessings, Fr. Kevin MacDonald, C.Ss.R.

Les doy la bienvenida a "LA BUENA PALABRA", nuestro podcast diario donde los Misioneros Redentoristas de la Provincia de Baltimore comparten la Buena Nueva de Jesús. Soy el Padre Manuel Rodríguez, redentorista, de la Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro en Brooklyn, Nueva York. En el Evangelio de hoy, el sábado, 9 de septiembre de 2025, según San Lucas, capítulo 6, versos 12 al 19, nos presenta a Jesús en un momento decisivo: la elección de los Doce Apóstoles. No fue una decisión improvisada. San Lucas subraya que Jesús pasó la noche entera en oración, en diálogo con su Padre Dios, antes de elegirlos.Este detalle nos enseña algo muy importante: las decisiones fundamentales de la vida no se toman a la ligera, ni solamente con la cabeza, ni movidos por sentimientos del momento, es decir, el corazón. Las decisiones de vida comienzan con la oración. Una oración especial que se hace usando la cabeza y el corazón, es decir, la cabeza (la razón) y el corazón (los sentimientos) armonizados. Y estas decisiones significativas de la vida, se toman de rodillas, poniéndonos en oración, buscando la voluntad de Dios. Si Jesús, quien es el Hijo de Dios, rezaba -- cuánto más nosotros, que somos frágiles, y necesitados, debemos orar antes de cada paso decisivo.Luego, al amanecer, Jesús llama a sus discípulos y elige a doce. Este número recuerda a las doce tribus de Israel: con este gesto, Jesús está fundando el nuevo Pueblo de Dios, la Iglesia, que se extenderá hasta los confines de la tierra. Y los que escogió Jesús no eran perfectos: entre ellos hay pescadores de poca cultura, un publicano mal visto por la gente, y hasta Judas, que lo traicionaría. Esto nos recuerda que la Iglesia no está formada por santos impecables, sino por pecadores llamados y enviados por pura gracia.Pidamos hoy al Señor:· Que sepamos orar antes de cada decisión importante y · Que, como los Apóstoles, aceptemos ser llamados aún reconociendo y con nuestras debilidades y limitaciones. Amén.

Nace María, Madre de Dios Hoy celebramos el Nacimiento de la Virgen María, Madre de Jesús. El evangelio nos habla de … María, de la cual nació Jesús, llamado Cristo.Cristo quiere decir..”el ungido” o el mesías, el enviado de Dios. Por eso en la genealogía de Jesús nos dice hoy. Esto. Jesucristo, hijo de David, hijo de Abraham. Porque Jesús, como todos los Israelitas fue de la familia de Abrahán. Pero Jesús como hijo de Dios nació también de la familia del Rey David. Esta fiesta de hoy, el Nacimiento de María, la madre Jesús, la celebramos precisamente nueve meses después de la Fiesta de la Inmaculada Concepción de María. Fiesta del día ocho de diciembre. Porque creemos que María, por obra de Dios, obra del Espirito Santo, María nació sin la mas mínima mancha del pecado. Además María antes, después el nacimiento de Jesús se quedaba inmaculada. Pura y totalmente de la belleza y dulzura de la Santísima Trinidad que la había escogido ser Madre del Redentor. Sobre la vida de María antes de ser visitada por el ángel Gabriel las Sagradas Escrituras no dice nada. Pero la tradición Católica tiene gran respeto por una obra que se llama el Proto Evangelio de Santiago…Allá se habla de Ana y Joaquín como los papás de María. Hay muchos detalles muy hermosos aunque no son artículos de nuestra fe católica. Por ejemplo el Proto Evangelio dice que Ana y Joaquín, al igual que Abrahán y Sara sufrieron por ser viejos sin tender todavía ni un hijo. Dice este Proto Evangelio de Santiago que Ana y Joaquín, muy parecido a lo que iban a ser su propia hija, María y José muchos años después. Dice que:Joachim trajo el niño a los sacerdotes. Ellos la bendijeron diciendo esto: O Dios de nuestros padres bendiga esta niña y dale un nombre Eterno que sea nombrado en todas las generaciones futuras. O Dios Eterno mira sobre esta niña y bendígala con una bendición que durará para siempre. Y digo yo, Padre Martín: Santísima Trinidad: Padre, Hijo Jesús (nacida de María) y Espíritu Santo háganos muy agradecidos por Jesús y por su mamá María cuyo nacimiento celebramos [email protected]

ES QUESTIÓN DE LA MISERICORDIA Cuando Pedro ve la enorme cantidad de peces se siente lleno de asombro. Pedro se siente muy indigno de estar cerca de una persona tan maravillosa como es Jesús. Por eso le grita a Jesús: “Apártate de mi Señor. Soy un pecador”..Pero Jesús no le hace caso. Al contrario, le dice a Pedro esto: "No temas; desde ahora serás pescador de hombres". Pedro comienza aprender que eso mismo es estilo Jesús. Porque para Jesús, para Dios somos todos nosotros los amados hijos de su Padre Celestial. Claro que Pedro fue pecador. Uds. y yo también. Pero eso no es lo que importa. Pedro iba ver a Jesús acercándose a pecadores días y noches. Porque Jesús poco después llama el pecador y cobrador Mateo para ser también un pescador de hombres. Jesús se acerca a la mujer samaritana. Otra pecadora. Al comienzo toqué unos versos del canto NO SOY DIGNO de la Hermana Glenda. Porque para Jesús no es cuestión de ser o no ser pecador. No es cuestión de merecer nada. La misión de Jesús es una misión de la MISERICORDIA. Jesús sabía, creo yo, que el mismo Pedro lo iba a negar. Jesús también sabía que todos los discípulos lo iban a abandonar cuando lo agarraron en el Huerto de Getsemaní. Hace muchos años hice yo los llamados Ejercicios Espirituales de San Ignacio de Loyola. Cuando una persona hace los Ejercicios Espirituales uno de los fines de ello es de reconocer y dejar cualquier idea equivocada de Dios. Pedro conoció a Jesús como un hombre de la misericordia. Por eso Pedro pasó esos tres años con Jesús amando y llamando a los demás, pecadores y todos…a recibir y a vivir la libre y gratuita MISERICORDIA DE DIOS. Les voy a oír el final de la Hermana Glenda cantando NO SOY DIGNO DE ENTRAR EN TU CASASi me quieren hacer comentario:[email protected]