Mt. 20:1-16
By S. Marianne Ferguson
I once visited the town in Italy where St. Padre Pio lived. On the journey there, I was surprised to see such extreme poverty. I saw people trying to make a living by raking stones located on the surrounding mountains. One of the homes had an open door along with open windows so you could take a peek into the house and see only a small table in the middle of the room. At 11 a.m., the men in town were standing around the well near the hospital that Padre Pio built, waiting to be hired for a daily wage. How grateful they must have been for an opportunity to work and provide for their families.
We too have much to be grateful for. It is up to us to allow these gifts we’ve been given to transform us and pass on our blessings to others in the same way the wage earners pass on their earnings to their family. By sharing our gifts with others—the gifts of presence, attention, and prayer, for example, we can show our gratitude for God and the gifts he gave us. I think one of the most challenging quotes in scripture is “To those to whom much is given, much is expected.”
May we show our gratitude by caring for others.
