MONTHLY DEVOTIONAL FOR 21 SEPTEMBER
September 21, 2025
FEAST OF SAINT THOMAS OF VILLANOVA – 22 SEPTEMBER
September 22, 2025
TODAY’S GOSPEL READING
21 SEPTEMBER, 2025
Luke 16:1-13
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 stewardship 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!
REFLECTION
This parable challenges us to examine our use of worldly resources of our time, money, talents, as a form of stewardship. The steward is dishonest, yet commended for foresight: he prepares for the future. Jesus doesn’t ask us to deceive or be corrupt, but to recognize the value of what we have been given, and to use it wisely in building something eternal.
We often invest with great care in material things for security in this life, but may neglect investing in our character, in relationships, in spiritual matters. Trustworthiness in small, everyday actions reveals what kind of people we are; and that integrity becomes the foundation for greater responsibility.
Jesus also warns against divided loyalties. To serve God fully means not letting wealth—or the desire for it—become a rival master. When wealth controls us, our capacity to serve God and others is compromised. Our true wealth is not only what we own, but what we become through love, service, and faithfulness.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to be faithful with the small things, that I may prove worthy of greater responsibilities. Grant me wisdom to use all I have, my time, gifts, resources, to serve You and my neighbour rather than for selfish gain. Deliver me from the love of riches and from divided loyalties.
May my heart be set on You, the true Master, and may I build treasures in heaven through generosity and integrity. Amen
Source: USCCB – Daily Readings
