Daily Gospel Reflection
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November 15, 2020
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one–
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master’s money.
“After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
‘Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.’
His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'”
“Zero risk bias” is what causes people to buy up all the toilet paper they can possibly hoard during a pandemic. In the face of a complex and stressful situation, zero risk bias is a cognitive/behavioral strategy that compels people to focus all their attention on one aspect of “risk” and eliminate it so that they can feel some sense of control over a larger set of circumstances that they ultimately cannot control. Some people “zero out” the risk of running out to toilet paper by buying more than they could possibly use over a certain period of time. This is why the toilet paper shelves were bare when the pandemic first hit the U.S. in March, and we are starting to see this phenomenon again.
The servant who is given one talent is hoarding toilet paper. Not literally, of course, but in the figurative sense. All he focuses on is the risk of losing his master’s money if he tries to make good use of it. He zeros out that risk by burying the talent in the ground.
If Jesus came again in glory today, do we think he would be proud of us for having a large stockpile of toilet paper? Quite the opposite! He would probably wonder why we didn’t donate the toilet paper to a local food bank or charity so that it could be distributed to the less fortunate. Fear makes us focus on ourselves. Courage turns us outward.
Today’s parable invites us to consider the gifts that God has given us, like the talents the master entrusts to the servants. What are our gifts, and how can we invest them in the needs of others? We may never see the effects of our efforts, but we trust in God to make good returns on what we are willing to give.
Prayer
We believe, O Lord, that you are consummate fairness. You know all the circumstances in our lives, our strengths and our weaknesses. We have been given the gift of life in our birth and the gift of your spiritual life in our baptism. Help us, we plead, to give back our self to you as you gave us of your very self in eternal life.
Saint of the Day
St. Albert the Great was one of the Church’s greatest scholars.
Albert was born into an upper-class German family in 1206 and, accordingly, received some of the best education in Europe. Albert spent most of his education at the University of Padua. Despite his family’s disapproval, he joined the Dominicans, and he furthered his education by studying theology in Bologna. He taught at universities in Regensburg, Cologne, and Freiburg. Finally, in 1245, Albert became a master of theology and shortly after began to teach theology at the University of Paris. It was during his tenure at the College of St. James at the University of Paris that Albert taught his most famous pupil—Thomas Aquinas.
Albert was largely responsible for bringing the writings of Aristotle back in to the academic conversation. Albert believed that Aristotle's approach to the natural sciences and philosophy was not in opposition to Christianity, but, in fact, could be a useful support to Christians seeking to understand God's work in the world. Albert wrote an encyclopedic commentary on philosopher Peter Lombard's Book of the Sentences. His pupil, Thomas, eventually wrote his own Summa Theologiae largely inspired by Albert's work. Albert was a true polymath and wrote extensively on natural science, logic, music, mathematics, astronomy, metaphysics, natural law, economics, and politics.
Albert introduced, or welcomed, the study of Greek and Arabic, and paved the way for a renewed interest in Aristotle’s works, which fueled Thomas Aquinas’ study of Aristotle.
Albert was a brilliant scientist and a prolific theologian. In a commentary on the Gospel of Luke, he wrote the following about the Eucharistic command to "Do this in remembrance of me":
"He could not have commanded anything more lovable, for this sacrament produces love and union. It is a characteristic of the greatest love to give itself as food. As if to say: 'I have loved them and they have loved me so much that I desire to be with them, and they wish to receive me so that they may become my members. There is no more intimate or more natural means for them to be united to me, and I to them.'"
Albert is known as the “light of Germany” and was given the title “great” because of the depth and breadth of his knowledge. He has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to thirty-seven saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their teaching or example.
Albert the Great is the patron saint of scientists, philosophers, and students—for this reason, his statue is featured on the facade of the Jordan Hall of Science. The chapel in Zahm Hall is named after Albert the Great, because he is the namesake of the brother of Father John Zahm, C.S.C. Albert Zahm. Albert Zahm studied at Notre Dame in the 1880s and was a pioneer in flight. Albert Zahm is buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery on campus. A statue of St. Albert the Great stands in the chapel in Zahm Hall.
Albert died in Cologne in 1280. Some of St. Albert's relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica.
Albert the Great, whose faith sought understanding of all things and who used reason to seek a deeper knowledge of God—pray for us!