While they were listening to him speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading. 

1.  "He Gave Them Ten Gold Pieces" -  A Relationship.

Each one of us has been given "gold pieces" for a concrete mission in life. Our mission is to invest in the Kingdom. But whose Kingdom is it? 

Who is "the certain nobleman"? He is the Lord who is not accepted or loved by all his people. Although absent from sight, He will return. And he will return in the full power of the Kingship in his land. As I am one of those to whom "a gold coin" has been entrusted, I begin my prayer by placing myself more fully and consciously in his presence. By Faith I recognize his yet hidden royalty and Lordship. Who am I that my Lord has come to me? 

Not only does Our Lord come to us, but also he entrusts us with his most valuable possessions. The gold coin he gives me is still his. For me it is really a loan, not a simple gift. It does not really belong to me. The gifts I have received from God, natural and supernatural, are God's property. I have these gifts, but do not possess them. What is my attitude toward "his gold" that I hold? 

The most profound and important value of this "gold", more than its face value or the responsibility that accompanies it, lies in the relationship that it constitutes. In virtue of the entrusted gold I have a special relationship with the Lord. His act of entrusting me with his gold reveals a personal confidence and trust in me. Even more since he has entrusted his gold to me, his servant, he has trusted in me as more than a servant. "I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does riot know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father." (Jn 15:15) The generous gift of gold betokens personal friendship and love. But the maturing of these more precious values depends on my response. My use of and care for his "gold" will determine the quality of my friendship and love for the Lord. 

2.  "Engage in Trade" -  A Commandment. 

The Lord of the parable makes only one demand, asks and commands only one response upon entrusting to his 10 servants a gold coin each. He orders us to "engage in trade", to "do business" with your gold. That is all. Our Lord wants us to multiply our gifts, his gold coins. The master's will, is everything for a servant. His command is not complicated but all too simple: invest your gold coin. 

After commissioning them with his wealth, the Lord leaves his servants alone. He does not spy on them. We too are left free to correspond or not with Our Lord's gold. We often feel very much alone, as if God had no interest in our growth and work. With no persistent calls or notes to remind us or check on our progress, we are tempted to relax or just enjoy the coin we have received. But we are also free to do business as we like, with all the generosity and dedication possible. What a freedom! What a trust he has placed in me! While there is not the pressure of the business world, there will be a deadline. The moment will come when Our Lord returns to ask an account of our dealings; "Engage in trade with these until I return. " My life will end here and I must show the fruits of my efforts. Our Lord has personally entrusted me with a concrete mission. The only hope I have to fulfill it lies in my "engaging in trade", investing my gold coins. Is this the principle task in my life? 

3.  Our Gold as Apostles of the Kingdom. 

What are the gold coins that Our Lord places in our hands to build the Kingdom? Certainly all of our natural personal qualities are implied. They are valuable gifts that need to be developed. My personality, physical health and talents, my intellect and social skills, my capacity for love and kindness stand at the beginning of an almost endless list. No less important are the people and circumstances that surround me in life. Do I view all of these as gifts, as gold coins, placed in my life for a purpose? 

Consider, as well, the supernatural gifts of faith and grace. When Our Lord calls us "friends", is he not doing so in reference to these gifts? "friends, because I have told you everything... " With his word he has given us Faith, Revelation, Scripture, Magisterium, the Church, the Sacraments, . . . and in a special way even our own vocation to be 'apostles of the Kingdom'. These gifts are the gold Jesus shares only with his closest friends. ("To you have been revealed the secrets of the Kingdom... " and "do not throw your pearls before swine.") Are these not the most valuable coins I have received? If so, they will also be the gold from which more is expected. "To those to whom, more is given more will be expected. " 

Let us not forget the most beautiful of his gifts: the Holy Spirit and even his own Mother. Without these gifts of gold we could do little if anything as apostles! We already have the scene of the apostles frightened and frozen with fear in the upper room after the crucifixion. Without Mary to encourage them and teach them to pray from without, and the Holy Spirit to enflame and convict them from within, they never would have broken out of their fears and begun evangelizing. How much of an apostle have I become? How have I used these gifts of the Holy Spirit and Mary, my mother? 

Our Lord has given different coins to each servant. Every gold piece was coined melting and mixing together different nuggets of gold. My gold is unique and includes a variety of nuggets, i.e. gifts and potential. There exists an intrinsic connection between these many and varied gifts. Some seem in a way to encompass the others. The vocational gold, for example, (to Christianity, to marriage and family, to holiness and apostolic commitment in the Movement) require other gifts, especially faith and grace for fulfillment. How immensely valuable each one of these gold nuggets! To develop one implies developing another. But there is one kind of gold that is vital to development of all the rest, the gift of time. Time takes on a universal and profound value, especially in the life of an apostle. 

What value does "time" have in my life as an apostle? Time allows us to do so much good. How we long for more time to do more for the Kingdom! How often we anxiously struggle to proportion our time justly according to our priorities! And yet how much time do we waste? How difficult it becomes to manage! Once used it is gone, never to be restored. We are blessed with only so much time, a limited amount. 

Conversation: Lord Jesus, help me love you above all things and be especially ready to follow you with my time, my talents and my love.

Questionnaire

1. What is the gift of "gold" that I most value? 

2. Do I trust that I can with God's help develop and produce fruits from the gifts that he has given me? 

3. What importance do I give to the task of "investing" my faith and love for God? What worldly tasks and goals am I willing to sacrifice? 

4. Do I invest my time with as much care in eternity as I do in temporal affairs?