Jesus said to them, ‘Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ (Mark 12:17)

It’s so easy to miss the big picture. Our lives can be made up of so many small tasks and activities, and we can be so caught up in ‘getting them right’. Since God loved each of us into life, giving ‘God the things that are God’s’ means giving God our whole heart and mind and soul – not externals. Or as Andre Cirino OFM puts it, God placed the gifts, talents and goodness in each one of us and it is our task to discover and develop that goodness using it to build community and offer it back to God.

If our young people focus on finding and developing their God-given talents, sharing them with others, they will discover their happiness, their vocation. They will also uncover more of the Franciscan wisdom of ‘it is in giving that we receive’.

Have a great week!
Patrick