PARISH NEWS

MULTI TALENTED

No-one knows our make-up better than our maker. We ourselves hardly know our own unique combination of talents and abilities, strengths or weaknesses.

Until we try, we don’t know what we are capable of, but our Creator knows precisely the skill set we have been given, and it is always greater than we think. The Creator loves us absolutely, intimately and infinitely, never expecting the impossible of us, just what is possible.

This famous gospel about the talents (Mt 25:14-30) is not so much about who has the most gifts but about getting the best out of whatever we do have. The Master in the parable is angry at the servant who wastes the talents he has been given and so God expects us to use our gifts, bravely, adventurously and confident in the glow of His approval and support.

God wants the best for us but he has given us free will. If, out of fear of failure, or a desire to be cool, or plain laziness, we refuse to even try using our gifts – what can he do with us? He encourages us to develop our talents and abilities and often this requires patience, self-discipline, and courage. And these too are talents. We have to stretch out of our comfort zone and into our limitless possibility zone. As we progress, we realize more fully our potential and become better at loving God and our neighbour.

Followers of Jesus should be brave and outgoing, using our talents for the Kingdom. Pope Francis in Laudate Si quotes the South African Bishop’s Conference urging us that, “Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation.”(LS 202) Many are more concerned with selfish desires than the common good. In his newer encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, the Pope counsels us that “the heroes of the future will be those who can break with this unhealthy mind-set and determine respectfully to promote truthfulness, aside from personal interest.” (FT 202)

Deacon Mark Kelly