Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
In the gospel today, our Lord speaks of the different levels of responsibility that we all have. We are all responsible for what we have received. We all have the ability and the obligation to respond for what God has given to us. Right? Respond ability. God gives us His grace. And then at the judgment, we respond for what we have done with it.
We have the ability and the obligation to respond, each for how much he has received. No more than that, but no less than that. No less than that. No less than that either.
And it's enough for us to reflect in this season of Lent on the fact that in making these comparisons in the gospel, between people who knew less, knew more, in making these comparisons, our Lord speaks of condemnation for those who have received much, but who did not use their gifts responsibly. So receiving much, does not guarantee us salvation or sanctification. It means a greater responsibility for sure. And our Lord speaks again of condemnation for those who do not use what they have received responsibly.
So that's a sobering reflection, obviously, right? And our Lord says it in the gospel that "from those to whom much has been given, much will be demanded." And in Lent, it's good to reflect exactly on that, amongst the other things, the other reflections during Lent, to reflect on all that we have received. Because that's a mercy that we have received.
Even the fact that we are Catholics, that's a great mercy. Some of us cradle Catholics. We didn't have to look. We didn't have to search. We didn't have to convert. We didn't have to overcome any obstacles. A lot was just given to us because in our weakness, we needed that. And that comes again with a responsibility.
As Catholics, we know, for example, that we are called to imitate Christ. We know Christ, and we know that we're supposed to imitate Him in our thoughts and words and actions, that we are to love God with our whole heart, mind, and soul, and our neighbor as ourselves, but even more, as Christ. And that comes with a responsibility.
We know what Christ has given us, that He has given us, for example, the sacraments, and we can frequently receive the sacraments. We can go to confession frequently. We can go to communion frequently. We can pray. We can have devotion to Our Lady. We can consecrate our lives to Our Lady. We can pray the rosary to Our Lady, and we should. We know all that, and that's a great gift. It's amazing to have that. But again, it comes with a responsibility.
And it can seem like, if we look at it that way, it can seem like, wow, an overwhelming responsibility, because for all this, we'll have to respond. The more we know, the more we will have to respond for it. You know the catechism? Okay, great. What'd you do with it, our Lord will ask us. You know about the rosary, the power of the rosary? Okay, what'd you do with it, our Lord will ask us. You knew about confession. You knew about frequent communion. What'd you do with it?
So that can seem like a crushing responsibility, but then we're reminded of the necessity of becoming a little child, which we also know from the gospel. Our Lord says, "Unless you become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." So in this presence of, in this realization of the great responsibility that we have, we realize we can live up to it only if we become like little children, right?
Because what do, you know, little children, we consider them responsible if they do what? If they run to their mom and dad when they meet some danger, that's beyond them. It's a responsible little child. Oh, you saw a problem, you told your mom. Okay, good little boy, good little girl. So that's what we should do as well.
When something is beyond our strength, when something is frightening, when something is challenging, we know we can have recourse to Our Lord. We know we can have recourse to Our Lady. And when it seems that's all we can do because the responsibility is just crushing and overwhelming, well, we know that's all we have to do sometimes. Just run to Our Blessed Lady. That's why God has given us a mother.
The redemption doesn't end. It's not all finished, it's not all accomplished until Our Lord from the cross says, "Behold your mother." We know that. We have a responsibility that comes with that knowledge. We have to run to Our Lady, turn to Our Lady, recognize her as our Mother.
So let's imitate responsible, children, let's do the little that we can, perseveringly and diligently, because we have to again. What we can do, we must do. And what's beyond our strength? Well, let's run with it to our blessed lady. That's what God wants us to do.
And that's what we'll be responsible for to God on the day of judgment. It's a sweet responsibility, an awesome responsibility. Let's make sure to fulfill it.