mercy of God – Madison Catholic Herald Archive (2001-2025)

We are approaching the end of the Jubilee Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis, which began on December 8, 2015, and will conclude on November 20.

This year has been an invitation for all of us to rediscover and encounter the incredible mercy of God. It has been an invitation to love, kindness, and generosity — things that we all need more than ever in our world today.

And just because the Year of Mercy ends on November 20, it doesn’t mean we have to stop learning more about mercy and incorporating it into our daily lives.

Word on Fire

On October 2, 2014

Fr. Robert Barron

Parable of the talents revisited

The attendance at our Mass at Mundelein Seminary on Labor Day weekend was sparse. Many of the students had gone home while others were on a special tour of Chicago churches.

The celebrant and preacher for the Sunday Mass was Fr. Robert Schoenstene, our veteran Old Testament professor. Father Schoenstene offered the best interpretation I’ve ever heard of a particularly puzzling parable of the Lord, and I wanted to make sure his reading got a wider audience.

Rich man gives talents to servants

The parable in question is the one concerning the rich man who gives talents to three of his servants and then sets out on a journey. Upon his return, he assesses the situation and discovers that the servant to whom he had given five talents had invested them fruitfully and that the servant to whom he had given three talents had done the same.