Parable of the Talents & Divine Intimacy

[Justin_Mary]

This is one of those parables that literally scared the bejeebus out of me. I’ve never been good at managing money or debt. I know the first two servants received good & great returns on the money placed in their stewardship & the third returned exactly what he was given to care for.

In my case, I worried that I wouldn’t even have the principal to return to my Lord.

Today I was reading Divine Intimacy by Fr Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene OCD that allowed me to see this parable in a new light.

After making known to the disciples the persecutions they would have to endure for his love, Jesus concluded: “He who endures to the end will be saved” (Mk 13:13). St. Luke expresses the same thought, a little differently, but no less meaningfully: “By your endurance you will gain your lives” (21:19). There is no doubt: he who wishes to save his soul unto eternal life must persevere in good, without being frightened by the harshness of is trials. Considering our frailty and weakness, our perseverance cannot be without flaw; just the same, we must keep on trying, getting up quickly after each fall and making amends by a fresh start. As long as God does not intervene with special gifts to make us stable, our perseverance consists precisely in this constant beginning again, in being converted, and in improving ourselves. Thus we shall bear good fruit (Lk 8:15), and our constancy will be crowned by God with the great grace of final perseverance.

The talents spoken of in the parable is not the money I earn or lose in this life, but the virtues bestowed upon me at baptism & sealed in me at confirmation.

& all God is asking of me is to exercise these virtues & he will reward me with more.

Pray, hope, & don’t worry

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m glad you are feeling better about this.
But did you seriously think the parable was about earning and investing money?

 

[Justin_Mary]

But did you seriously think the parable was about earning and investing money?

Not just money, but all the “stuff” in this world. Well, I never made the connection with grace & virtue

 

[Dan_Defender]

The talents spoken of in the parable is not the money I earn or lose in this life, but the virtues bestowed upon me at baptism & sealed in me at confirmation.

& all God is asking of me is to exercise these virtues & he will reward me with more.

Also, God-given gifts and abilities must be used and invested in benefitting others because at the end of our lives God will demand an account of what we did with them.