Servant and Steward

Yesterday several of you kindly sent messages of gratitude and prayers, noting that the first reading of yesterday's Mass contained the passagre of Saint Paul from which this blog takes its name

I am still recovering from the work of these last few days and a significant weather change or two, as well, and, though I wish I could, I simply do not have the mental ability at the moment to offer a reflection of my own on this passage.

Instead, I offer you a few words of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II on this passage from his Gift and Mystery:

What does it mean to be a priest? According to Saint Paul, it meas above all to be a steward of the mysteries of God: "This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Not it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy" (I Corinthians 4:1-2). The word "steward" cannot be replaced by any other. It is deeply rooted in the Gospel: it brings to mind the parable of the faithful steward and the unfaithful one (cf. Luke 12:41-48). The steward is not the owner, but the one to whom the owner entrusts his goods so that he will manage them justly and responsibly. In exactly the same way the priest receives from Christ the treasures of salvation, in order duly to distribute them among the people to whom he is sent. These treasures of those of faith. The priest is thus a man of the "mystery of faith." through faith he draws near to the invisible treasures which constitute the inheritance of the world's Redemption by the Son of God. No one may consider himself the "owner" of these treasures; they are meant for all. But, by reason of what Christ laid down, the priest has the task of administering them.

And now I must muster up enough mental concentration to put together the various pieces of Sunday's homily. I'll try to put up a post on homily building later this evening.