‘...and in what I have failed to do’

The liturgical celebration this Sunday reminds us not only of the end of the liturgical year but also of the end of all things and the end of the preparations we need to make in order for us to reach Heaven.

The Church keeps asking us to meditate on the invitation for us to live in such a way that we make the best use of the talents God has given us, so that at the hour of our death, Our Lord will say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant! Come and share the joy of your master” (Mt. 25:21).

And speaking of preparation, perhaps it would be better to reflect on our own lives. Let us look deeper — are we worthy of entering Heaven?

In the Confiteor Deo, we say, “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do…”

“In what I have failed to do” refers to sins of omission, meaning those things we were supposed to do but didn’t, for some reason or other.

Most of us focus on the sins we have committed, but we overlook the things we failed to do, things that we actually should have done for the common good.

Every time I preside over a liturgical celebration for the dead or at a funeral, I see to it that I remind the people, the family, relatives and friends of the deceased to prepare themselves for death simply by having a good relationship with God and with one another. And we can only achieve this by establishing and maintaining a good relationship with God and with one another. It is about how we live today.

In the Gospel, the master entrusts talents (massive sums of money representing gifts, grace, time and abilities) to his servants. The first two servants take a risk, trade with them and double what they were given. The third servant, paralyzed by fear and a distorted view of the master (“I knew you were a severe man”), buries his talent in the ground.

God does not give us gifts to be wrapped up and kept safe from a harsh world; He gives them to be invested in love, service and generosity. True discipleship requires the courage to risk our comfort for the sake of the Kingdom.

What are we doing with the time, grace and gifts God has placed in our hands?

All of us will be judged by God. Are we faithful stewards? Are we ready for the Lord’s return? Do we put our God-given gifts to active service rather than hiding them out of fear?

The Word of God is not designed to make us shrink in terror; it is meant to liberate us from passive fear.

God does not give us His grace, our unique abilities, our time or our material blessings just for us to hoard or lock them away where they will be “safe.” He expects us to invest them in love.