Daily Catholic Lectio
Fri, 6 Nov 2026
XXXI Week in Ordinary Time
Phil 3:17–4:1; Lk 16:1-8
The Use of Wealth
Today’s Gospel is a difficult passage from a moral point of view. Jesus appears to praise a steward who wastes his master’s property and then acts shrewdly: “The children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
This is not an example encouraging us to cheat others or to misuse responsibility for our own benefit.
Rather, Jesus uses this story to show how wealth can be used in different ways.
The steward continues to waste his master’s property until the end.
He tells the one who owes “one hundred measures of oil” to write “fifty,” and the one who owes “one hundred measures of wheat” to write “eighty.”
The master praises his action. Jesus too says: “The children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.”
How should we understand the action of this irresponsible but shrewd steward? And how should we understand the praise given by the master and by Jesus?
The steward does three things.
(a) He understands his own situation
He knows that he is certainly going to lose his position. When the master tells him that he will be removed, he says to himself: “I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.” He understands his own condition clearly.
(b) He wins the goodwill of others
If we want the goodwill of others, we must make some effort. The steward does exactly this. He uses his master’s property to win the favour and goodwill of the debtors.
(c) He acts immediately
He immediately begins to do what he thinks will protect his future. He does not waste time trying to discover who reported him to his master.
Jesus gathers these three actions into one word: shrewdness.
The steward does not look at a negative event only as a problem. He sees it also as an opportunity. That is why both the master and Jesus praise his shrewdness.
Negative events will happen in life. But the solution often depends on how we respond to them. If we see them only as problems, we may simply complain about them. If we see them as opportunities, even difficult situations can become useful for our growth.
There is one more point.
The steward uses wealth that will not last in order to gain relationships that may last.
That is the deeper question of the Gospel: How do we use the wealth and resources entrusted to us?
Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi
Archdiocese of Madurai
A Yesni Prays Initiative
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