Learning to be Quick to Listen

Jesus told a parable about a rich man and his dishonest manager. This manager was a shrewd operator, but he was fired for not bringing in as much money as he could have. Before he left, he went to all the people who owed the rich man money and drastically reduced their debts. He had no authority to do this, and legally, it was a dishonest act. Yet, when the rich man discovered what had happened, he commended the manager for his cleverness. Why? Because the manager had created a win-win situation . The debtors were overjoyed, morale skyrocketed, and productivity increased. The rich man, in the end, looked incredibly generous and couldn't risk revealing the truth, so he went along with it. The moral of this story, as Jesus explains, is to "make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes." While this can sound jarring, the message is simple: forgive . Whether it's a financial debt or an emot...

The birth of Jesus causes joy because it gives us the certainty that God “works wonders in weakness,” Pope Benedict XVI said recently. “The Nativity of the Lord once again illuminates the darkness that often surrounds our world and our hearts with his light, bringing hope and joy,” he said during his weekly general audience. The pontiff opened and closed his remarks with Pilate's question to Christ at his trial: “Where do you come from?” Pope Benedict answered that the Gospels show Christ's “true origin” is from God the Father, and that he “comes entirely from him.” That Christ “by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,” is a mystery “central to our profession of faith,” he stated. “At this phrase we kneel because the veil which hid God is, so to speak, lifted and his unfathomable and inaccessible mystery touches us directly,” the Pope reflected. He said that sacred music composed by the “great masters … lingers especially on this phrase, as if to try to express in...