{"id":11935,"date":"2025-05-11T07:39:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T11:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alleluia.nyc\/?page_id=11935"},"modified":"2026-05-10T11:39:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T15:39:26","slug":"may-2025","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.alleluia.nyc\/?page_id=11935","title":{"rendered":"May 2025: Becoming a Good Steward of Time"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\"Weekly Challenge\" May 2025: Becoming a Good Steward of Time<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Week Beginning May 25, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
Time for God<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
His Eminence Antonio Cardinal Bacci presents a compelling reflection on the stewardship of time:<\/h6>
\u201cReflect on the infinite generosity of God, Who created us, redeemed us from sin by shedding the Blood of His Divine Son, and enriched our souls with grace and supernatural gifts. How can we remain indifferent and fail to correspond willingly with such goodness? Virtue cannot be achieved without diligence, and we cannot be true Christians without virtue. Let us consider the example given us by the Saints. They lived in a continual and prayerful union with God; they never refused any task or any sacrifice, in order to show their love for Jesus and their total dedication to His will; they made every effort to attract others towards holiness and to bring about the triumph of the Kingdom of Christ in the world. What are we doing? What are we prepared to do in future? Are we carelessly wiling away our days in indolence and pleasure?\u201d<\/h6>
Looking toward the saints, we learn that spending time in prayer is not only an important way to devote our time to God but also the key to nourishing our eternal souls. \u201cGod is a spring of living water which flows unceasingly into the hearts of those who pray,\u201d teaches Saint Louis de Montfort. \u201cPrayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul plunges itself,\u201d says Saint John Vianney. He notes: \u201cThe soul should move toward prayer the way a fish should move toward water; they are both a purely natural state.\u201d\u00a0Saint Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 observes that \u201cPrayer is the foundation of the spiritual edifice. Prayer is all powerful.\u201d Saint John of the Cross advises: \u201cTry to be continuous in prayer, and in the midst of bodily exercises do not leave it. Whether you eat, drink, talk with others, or do anything, always go to God and attach your heart to him.\u201d Saint Robert Bellarmine states that \u201cWhoever finds God finds everything, whoever loses God loses everything.\u201d<\/h6>
The good news for sinners and saints alike is that it is never too late to find God. The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16a) tells the story of divine generosity and compassion when we view God as the true owner of the land. Are the first workers the Israelites and the last workers the Gentiles? Perhaps the \u201cfirsts\u201d are the Pharisees and the \u201clasts\u201d are the tax collectors and sinners. We can even name the first-called as cradle Christians and the last-called as those who repent on their deathbeds. It really does not matter in this context. We are all workers in the vineyard of the Lord, and we all reap the reward of God\u2019s love and mercy once we answer His call. The fact that eternal salvation is just as possible for someone who comes into faith late in life as for someone who has lived a life of faith does not diminish the reward for any of the recipients. God is love, and He loves each of us fully and completely.<\/h6>
It is easy to read only this parable and think that faith alone is sufficient for redemption. Certainly, it is a necessary component that requires our cooperation. Saint Augustine offers us a practical approach to balancing our spiritual and corporal efforts: \u201cPray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.\u201d Following Christ means carrying our crosses, trusting in God, and living our lives in loving service. \u201cSee how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone\u201d (James 2:24).<\/h6>
It is also easy to compare ourselves to others and feel that those who come last have a better deal than those who come first. True, those of us who spend our lives as disciples of Christ may labor longer in the vineyard of the Lord than those who find God in their final days. Yet a life lived in the grace of God is also blessed with a lifetime of divine love, incomparable mercy, and lasting peace. To dismiss those benefits diminishes the value of our faith. Our contributions can never equal the sacrifice Christ makes for us by freely and willingly giving his life in reparation for our sins. For that, we should be eternally grateful. And for that, we should look upon service as our privileged role within God\u2019s plan of salvation.<\/h6>
Saint Teresa of Calcutta explains: \u201cThe fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace.\u201d Pope Francis summarizes: \u201cOur life is made of time and time is God\u2019s gift, and it is therefore important to make use of it by performing good and fruitful actions. \u2026 Among the many things to do in our daily routine, one of the priorities should be reminding ourselves of our Creator who allows us to live, who loves us, who accompanies us on our journey.\u201d<\/h6>
This week, nourish your soul through prayer, challenge yourself to imitate God\u2019s generosity when you give your time, talent, and treasure, and share this message of hope with everyone. For those who have strayed, Saint Peter Chrysologus persuades us: \u201cSo let us turn back to Him, brethren, not fearing that time is running short. The time that belongs to time\u2019s Author cannot be shortened. The proof of it lies in the criminal in the Gospel<\/em>, who, at the moment of dying on the cross, got away with his pardon, grabbed hold of life and, breaking into paradise like a burglar, managed to make his way into the Kingdom (cf. Lk 23:43)!\u201d<\/h6>
Rejoice, for it is not too late to take time for God.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Week Beginning May 18, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
Time to Love<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
At his Inaugural Mass this morning, Pope Leo XIV proclaims: \u201cBrothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel<\/em> is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters.\u201d Certainly, the importance of love is a recurring theme in our readings this month. Saint John reveals that Jesus commands us to live in love. \u201cI give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another\u201d (John 13:34). Love is what distinguishes us as followers of Christ (John 13:35). Jesus discloses that our love for him is demonstrated by keeping his word. \u201cWhoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him\u201d (John 14:21). He also defines the ultimate sacrifice as an act of love: \u201cNo one has greater love than this, to lay down one\u2019s life for one\u2019s friends\u201d (John 15:13).<\/span><\/h6>
Saint Catherine of Siena observes that \u201cEverything comes from love, all is ordained for the salvation of man, God does nothing without this goal in mind.\u201d She notes, \u201cCharity is the sweet and holy bond which links the soul with its Creator: it binds God with man and man with God.\u201d We are able to love because God loves us first. His grace makes genuine love possible. Saint Vincent de Paul remarks that \u201cWe must love our neighbor as being made in the image of God and as an object of His love.\u201d Saint Bede the Venerable states: \u201cHe alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbor.\u201d<\/h6>
Saint Basil the Great ponders: \u201cWhat is the mark of love for your neighbor? Not to seek what is for your own benefit, but what is for the benefit of the one loved, both in body and in soul.\u201d Saint Thomas Aquinas defines love simply as \u201cto will the good of the other.\u201d Pope Saint John Paul II elaborates: \u201cLove demands effort and a personal commitment to the will of God. It means discipline and sacrifice, but it also means joy and human fulfillment.\u201d Saint Teresa of Avila asserts: \u201cIt is love alone that gives worth to all things.\u201d<\/h6>
\u201cIf we wish to serve God and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we render to Him and them,\u201d comments Saint Katherine Drexel. Saint Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 encourages us, \u201cEverything that is done out of Love acquires greatness and beauty.\u201d Saint Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux declares: \u201cYou know well enough that our Lord does not look so much on the greatness of our actions nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.\u201d<\/h6>
We should live our lives in love and allow that love to motivate how we spend our time. Saint Clare of Assisi shares: \u201cWe become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God’s compassionate love for others.\u201d<\/h6>
We practice loving on earth so that our love can be perfected in heaven. \u201cYou learn to speak by speaking, to study by studying, to run by running, to work by working, and just so, you learn to love by loving,\u201d says Saint Francis de Sales.<\/h6>
We can start loving others by being present to the people God places before us. When we put our selfish tendencies aside and shift our focus outward, we are able to see what God shows us and hear what He tells us. Then we can act with His heart to serve those He entrusts to our care. Distractions waste our time by taking us away from His will. Similarly, resentment and grudges do the same.<\/h6>
The Reverend Henri Nouwen instructs us: \u201cForgiveness stands in the center of God\u2019s love for us and also in the center of our love for each other. Loving one another means forgiving one another over and over again.\u201d Saint Teresa of Calcutta expresses the value of forgiveness with respect to love. \u201cWe know that if we really want to love, we must learn to forgive. Forgive and ask to be forgiven, excuse rather than accuse. Reconciliation begins first, not with others but ourselves. It starts with having a clean heart within. A clean heart is able to see God in others. We must radiate God\u2019s love.\u201d<\/h6>
In the center of the word \u201cforgiveness,\u201d we find the word \u201cgive.\u201d Forgiveness is a gift given to us that we give to others as well as to ourselves. C.S. Lewis writes, \u201cTo be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.\u201d Saint John Vianney reminds us that \u201cOur errors are grains of sand beside the great mountain of God\u2019s mercy.\u201d Forgiveness allows us to place the past behind us, and it sets us free to spend our time loving others and loving God. For this reason, Pope Francis refers to forgiveness as \u201cthe highest expression of giving.\u201d<\/h6>
This week, take time to love. Seek the image of God in everyone you encounter and try to treat them with due reverence and mercy. Strive to overcome the distractions that prevent you from fully giving yourself in love to others. Follow the advice of Saint Teresa of Calcutta and with a clean heart \u201cSpread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.\u201d<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Week Beginning May 11, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
Time of Our Lives<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
Today we celebrate Good Shepherd Sunday with a Gospel<\/em> reading from Saint John:<\/h6>
\u201cJesus said: \u2018My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father\u2019s hand. The Father and I are one\u2019\u201d (John 10:27-30).<\/h6>
The enormity of the gift of eternal life is challenging to fathom. As we contrast our changing and temporal human existence with the unchanging, infinite nature of the divine, we realize that our lives are short\u2026but eternity is long. Even the longest of our earthly lives are merely fleeting moments compared to our afterlives. Once we truly comprehend this concept, we can keep everything in perspective and properly steward the time we are given.\u00a0\u201cThe secret of happiness,\u201d according to Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, \u201cis to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in His goodness, sends to us day after day.\u201d<\/h6>
Saint Francis de Sales reveals that \u201cBy giving yourself to God, you not only receive Himself in exchange but, eternal life as well!\u201d Saint Ambrose of Milan observes, \u201cwhat is seen belongs to time, but what is not seen belongs to eternity.\u201d The saints have great appreciation for this notion and share with us their insights on the topic.<\/h6>
When it comes to suffering, we are taught to take up our crosses, unite our struggles with the Lord, and cooperate with God in our own redemption and the redemption of others. Saint Catherine of Siena explains: \u201cWe must therefore bear this little trial willingly. Little, we may call it, like all our sorrows, because of the brevity of time; since no trial can last longer than our time in this life. How much time have we? It is like the point of a needle.\u201d Saint Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux elaborates: \u201cLife is passing. Eternity draws closer; soon we will live the very life of God. After having drunk deep at the fountain of bitterness, our thirst will be quenched at the very source of all sweetness.\u201d Saint Augustine notes: \u201cFrom now on, regard this life as a desert through which you pass until you come to the Promised Land, the Jerusalem which is above, the land of the living.\u201d When we hand our troubles over to Jesus, our temporary adversity takes on an infinite purpose.<\/h6>
The same principle applies to our efforts and pastimes. \u201cThe root of every good work is the hope of the resurrection, for the expectation of a reward nerves the soul to good work. Every laborer is prepared to endure the toils if he looks forward to the reward of these toils,\u201d explains Saint Cyril of Jerusalem. \u201cWe have only short moments of this life to work for God\u2019s glory. The devil knows this and that is why he tries to make us waste time in useless things. Oh, let us not waste our time! Let us save souls!\u201d exclaims Saint Th\u00e9r\u00e8se of Lisieux.<\/h6>
Of course, we can only reap our eternal rewards and help to save souls through the grace of God. Saint Augustine expounds: \u201cWe are commanded to live righteously, and the reward is set before us of our meriting to live happily in eternity. But who is able to live righteously and do good works unless he has been justified by faith?\u201d<\/h6>
Our meritorious acts are not performed to earn or buy our way into heaven. Rather, they are executed out of love. We are moved by our faith to follow Christ. When we spend our time with Jesus, we conform to his ways. With Christ alive in us, we become like him. We begin to love like he loves. That love compels us to spend our time willing the good of others. In the words of Saint Gregory the Great: \u201cThe proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act, it ceases to exist.\u201d<\/h6>
\u201cSee, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away; heaven and hell will never pass away,\u201d remarks Saint John Vianney. Right now, we have the opportunity to forego worldly distractions for an eternity of bliss. It is not too late to start directing our lives toward becoming saints. Saint John Vianney continues his statement with words of encouragement: \u201cLet us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well. We have begun badly; let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in heaven.\u201d Saint Josemar\u00eda Escriv\u00e1 de Balaguer says, \u201cA saint is a sinner that keeps trying.\u201d<\/h6>
This week, honestly and objectively examine how you allocate your time. Does it accurately align with your values and your faith? Pray for the love of Christ to grow within you. The Venerable Fulton Sheen breaks it down for us: \u201cIt is never true to say that we have no time to meditate; the less one thinks of God, the less time there will always be for God. The time we have for anything depends on how much we value it. Thinking determines the use of time; time does not rule over thinking. The problem of spirituality is never, then, a question of time. For it does not require much time to make us saints; it requires only much love.\u201d<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Week Beginning May 4, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
Time for All Seasons<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>
\u201cThere is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to give birth, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.<\/em><\/h6>
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.\u201d<\/em><\/h6>
~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8<\/h6>
Our lives provide a time for all seasons, with each season presenting us with crosses to weather and blessings to reap. Pope Francis describes our earthly life as a novitiate or apprenticeship designed to teach us to appreciate God\u2019s gifts and to prepare us for our ultimate purpose. \u201cOur stable place, our destination is not here,\u201d he notes. \u201cIt is beside the Lord, where He dwells forever.\u201d Whatever we do, whenever the season, Christians know that every single thing stems from one reason: to glorify God. We are not made to know exactly when and how things happen. However, we can recognize the signs of the times and be ready to embrace the dynamic nature of the seasons of our lives.<\/h6>
Springtime bears the lush greenness of new life and the sprouting up of dewy buds that bloom into fragrant blossoms. We start fresh and unblemished, hopeful for a bounty of experiences yet to behold. Despite some growing pains, we burst into Summer bigger and stronger than ever. As we toil in the heat of our pursuits, we enjoy peaks in our performance, our accomplishments, and our connections. A refreshing Autumn breeze offers a respite from our labors as we begin to slow down. We take time for reflection and realize the wisdom we gain. Our Fall colors are brilliant and deep, but equally as vibrant as the beautiful and softer tones of Spring. As the leaves fade to brown, we are freed from the constraints of appearance. Superficialities of this world are stripped bare like the branches of the Winter trees. We focus less on the body and more on the soul. Under a pure white blanket of snow, life is changed, not ended. The promise of rebirth emerges as the light of Spring returns.<\/h6>
Saint Paul encourages us as \u201cchildren of the light\u201d to use our time wisely so that we might gain the inheritance of eternal salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). Faithful stewards of time study and follow the guiding principles that God gives us for righteous living. By investing time in our relationship with Jesus Christ, we obtain a deeper understanding of God\u2019s plan for us. We are better able to discern our role in creation, to stay vigilant, and to find fulfillment in all the phases of our journey.<\/h6>
Although many people in our society view the passage of time as a problem to be solved, this mindset overlooks one of the greatest benefits of aging. \u201cIn old age the works of faith, which bring us and others closer to the Kingdom of God, are by now beyond the power of the energy, words, and impulses of youth and maturity,\u201d observes Pope Francis. He explains: \u201cOld age is the phase in life most suited to spreading the joyful news that life is the initiation to a final fulfilment. And the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/h6>
Regardless of the season, our life takes on greater purpose when we spend our days traveling along the path of the Lord. This week, think about how you can make your minutes more meaningful by uniting the time you have with God. Prayerfully discern what efforts are best suited for your current phase of life. As you contribute to His good works, offer your time for His intentions. \u201cDo not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal\u201d (John 6:27).<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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“Weekly Challenge” May 2025: Becoming a Good Steward of Time Week Beginning May 25, 2025\u00a0 Time for God His Eminence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11944,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11935","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t