Joke: There is an old story of the three traveling evangelists who were talking about how they dealt with the offerings that were collected during their evangelistic meetings. The first one said, “I draw a big circle on the ground, and then I throw the money in the air. Whatever lands inside the circle belongs to God, and whatever lands outside the circle belongs to me.” “Oh, I can do better than that,” said the second evangelist. “I put a coffee can in the middle of the floor. Then I throw the money in the air. Any money that lands inside the coffee can belongs to God, and I get to keep anything that lands outside.” Then the third evangelist grinned and said, “I’ve got you both beat. I just throw the money in the air, and whatever God wants, God takes!”

Where is God in this joke? Is he absent when these three evangelists conversing with one another? Or rather, it is a blessing that God allowed them to harvest what they sowed.

In today’s Gospel, Saint Luke paints for us a picture that portrays a vivid comparison between a good action ending with a good result and a bad action ending with a bad result. It is not the story of more than two thousand years, it is a story of today.

Blessed are you who are poor, hungry, weeping, and hated for they shall receive all good things especially a great reward waiting for them in heaven. But woe to you who are rich, filled, laugh, and speak well about you for they will be sorry later.

So, how do we learn to be poor and not rich, hungry and not filled, weeping and not laugh, and hated and not speak well? Is being rich, filled, laughing, and speaking well of oneself a problem? There is no problem with being rich, filled, laughing, and speaking well of oneself, but all these things might block us from seeing those around us need our help.

A deacon once shared with me his personal story and allowed me to share whenever I  could. He had a beautiful and pious wife who was always faithful to her faith and faithful to her ministry at her parish. After he retired from the military, he always stacked up beer cases in his garage that never ran empty. Every day his neighbors and friends got off work, they came and had some drinks and conversations until his bedtime. One night, his wife told him, he was so drunk that he went to bed and threw off all over her hair while she was sleeping. He said that his wife must be a saint that she woke up cleaned up her hair and the bed, and went back to sleep without saying any word. When he was not drinking, she often asked him to go to her prayer group just once. He kept the promise to her that he would go one day. To make up for that night that he was so drunk, he promised her that he would go next time. He went one time, then two times, and then he began to stop stacking up beers in his garage. When he stopped stacking up beers in his garage, his neighbors and friends began to stop coming. He began to be involved in the Church more and then studied to become a permanent deacon. His life changed slowly through his wife’s kind words and kind deeds to him. Or rather, his true conversion was a product of his wife’s kind words and kind deeds.

His wife was so poor in spirit that she depended on the Spirit or leaned on God in prayers to help her husband. She was hungry and thirsty to see her husband stop drinking. Her tears didn’t come out of her eyes, but deep down inside, she cried to God in her prayers. Her husband didn’t recognize her presence so he even threw up on her hair during her sleep. The Lord heard her prayers and she rejoiced and leaped for joy the day that he was ordained to be the permanent deacon.

Each of us is reminded to depend on the Holy Spirit to respond to our bishop for his BSA this year. We are reminded to make a little sacrifice to support our BSA. We are also reminded to share our blessing with those who are unfortunate by extending our hands to help our bishop during this BSA. Finally, we are reminded to include our brothers and sisters who need our help by stretching our offering a little to lift our retired priests and religious brothers and sisters after their many years serving others.

Following is a link to the video for the Bishop’s Stewardship Appeal of 2025 from our Shepherd Wm. Michael Mulvey, Bishop of Corpus Christi.

Website: https://diocesecc.org/bsa