Using the Gifts God gave us

The gospel reading for today was the parable of the talents (Matthew 25: 14 - 30). Fr. John Connors, the pastor at my home parish of Holy Name in Springfield gave a wonderful sermon on risk-taking. He commented that using the gifts God has given us almost always involves taking a risk. The steward that hid his one talent was punished for hiding what he had. Because he wasn't willing to do anything with it, he lost it all.

That is very true with the gifts God gives us. We may be very good at sports, but if we don't exercise our performance will reflect that. If we are good at art, but never draw or pick up a paintbrush, that gift will never reach its full potential. And so it is with any of our talents. As Fr. John stated, Jesus never berated anyone for trying and failing, only for not trying.

It is our responsibility to get up every day and try to make the world a little bit better by using the gifts God has given us.