Today’s Gospel presents Jesus’ teachings on the two greatest commandments. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself.
 
Let’s consider these “greatest commandments” as they relate to three aspects of a Christian steward’s daily life — the giving of our time, talent, and treasure.
 
The use of time refers primarily to our relationship with the Lord — in other words, our prayer life. It is vital to talk to God throughout the day, but if I really want to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, shouldn’t I make time for God “first” on my agenda each day? Not as an afterthought, but as a time I have intentionally chosen to spend only with Him.
 
The use of talents refers to the way I offer the abilities, skills, and interests the Lord has given me for the good of those around me. Doing so is a practical way to “love my neighbor as myself.” At the same time, it is also a way to love the Lord with all that I am and have, since He has told us that whatever we do for others we are also doing for Him.
 
The use material gifts — or treasure — likewise demonstrates both love of God and of neighbor. When I trustingly offer a sacrificial gift to God through the offertory collection, I am showing Him in a very tangible way that He comes before all else in my life and I am putting my material resources at the service of my neighbor in the parish community and beyond.
 
When we live for God and others, we are living a stewardship way of life. And like the wise scribe in today’s Gospel, we are moving closer to the kingdom of God, our ultimate destination.
 
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Our Psalm today, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy,” sheds light on our glorious Gospel reading about the healing of the blind man, Bartimaeus.
 
We can learn a lot from Bartimaeus when it comes to our own personal relationships with Jesus. Many of us struggle with something from which we need healing — physical blindness, illness, addiction, bad habits, anger, sin. In our weakness, do we confidently cry out to Jesus knowing that He will help us? 
 
Oftentimes we begin to, but then a voice in our thoughts tells us to doubt and encourages us to stop trying, like the crowd in our Gospel. Although that voice is persistent and strong, we are called to cry out all the more. If Jesus can hear one voice in a crowd of many, then He can hear our direct prayer to Him in our hearts. 
 
Our Gospel story closes with the miraculous moment when Bartimaeus is healed. The conversation with Jesus was simple. Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he would like Him to do. This man, blind for who knows how many years, desired sight. Jesus responded, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” He was healed and continued to follow Christ. 
 
There was not much that Bartimaeus had to do to become healed. All he needed was his undoubting faith. 
 
Whatever it is that we are struggling with in this life, all Jesus asks of us is to have faith in Him. As a result, we will remain steadfast in our relationship with Christ and will have the strength to keep going. And although we might not be healed in this life, Jesus still hears our confident cries. And through our faith we will surely be healed in the next. 
 
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Our Gospel today conveys how we are called to imitate Jesus through humility and service. 

We are reminded that the Son of God became man and surrendered His life into the hands of men so that we might be saved. The life of Jesus was centered around His Father’s mission and the service of mankind. And this is how we ought to live — in imitation of Christ. 

James and John wanted to ensure they had a spot in heaven with Jesus. They were concerned about themselves in that moment — “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” 

Jesus quickly reminded them, “whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.”

Our culture constantly encourages us to do what we can to get ahead in this world, to do what feels good, no matter the effects — that power, authority, and wealth should be our goals in life. 

Our faith offers us something different and fulfilling — a life of humility and service. As Christian stewards, we are called to live our lives in service of God and neighbor, just as Jesus did. Our life is not about us. It is about fulfilling God’s glorious plan for each one of us. 

So, we must ask ourselves, are we living out God’s plan for our lives? Is my life centered on Christ and those around me or is it centered on me?  

It can be difficult to know God’s plan for our entire life. He sees the whole picture — we only see the now. All we can do is seek Him daily. If each day is centered on Him, then our entire lives will become the work of Jesus. 
 
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants

In our Gospel today we hear the story of a man who ran up to Jesus and asked Him what he must do to reach eternal life. 

Jesus said, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

It says the man went away sad because he had much. 

We might cringe when we hear this story because it is sad — this man was so close to becoming an active disciple of Jesus, but instead turned away. We also might cringe because it could be deeply applicable to our lives. 

Jesus states that “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

One of the metaphors for the “eye of a needle” was a tight passageway into Jerusalem that people had to enter to get into the city. In order for their camels to pass through, they had to remove whatever the camel was carrying, only then, could they enter. 

If we look at our own lives, we can most likely think of something that we tightly carry with us. Maybe it is possessions — material goods or money — like Jesus references in our Gospel. Or maybe it is something less material — like status, pride, or control. 

Jesus doesn’t want our stuff — our job promotions, our designer house, or our bank account. He just wants us. So, we need to be willing to strip those things from our lives in order to reach Him. 

It might seem difficult, but the outcome will be more than we could have ever imagined — peace on earth and treasure in heaven. 
 
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants

Our readings this week speak to each of our domestic churches — the little churches that we call our families. 
 
The First Reading from the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of creation when God made man and woman. When Adam sees the woman he says, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman.’”  
 
We can almost hear the longing, gratitude, and appreciation in Adam’s voice when he meets Eve as he says, “at last.” She was a gift because she was an equal partner to him. 
 
This was before the fall of man, meaning sin had not entered the world. Adam and Eve only viewed each other in total acceptance and love. 
 
Our Gospel brings us to life after sin had entered the world — a time that is familiar to us. As the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, He expressed that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of man’s heart. However, Jesus was calling them to deeper holiness. He was calling them to restore the original plan God had intended for marriage, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
 
Jesus’ words still apply to us here and now in each of our domestic churches. It is the task of families to tirelessly work to restore God’s original plan for marriage and family life — homes filled with gratitude, acceptance, and love. 
 
It takes a daily commitment to live out our call to holiness to restore our families to this beautiful image.
 
— Stewardship Reflections by Catholic Stewardship Consultants