The gold coin entrusted to each of us represents each of our personalities, which we must work with, making them to more closely mirror their creator.

Wednesday, 11/21/12

Today is the Feast of the Presentation of Mary. The Bible says nothing about this happening.  The feast is just based on the second century dream of a Christian who saw a young Mary being presented to the priests of the temple. It is a theme that artists in the Middle Ages loved to depict, but since they can’t be sure that this presentation ever happened, some Christians do not give it much thought. They know that Jesus on the Cross gave them his mother as their own, and that is so important to them that they let others follow their pious dreams. Let’s look at the Gospel.

We are all familiar with its story of the king entrusting a golden coin to each of three servants. One servant worked with the coin, managing to return it to his master with nine more he had earned with it. Another servant had used his one coin to earn four more; but a third servant had buried his gold coin, returning it to the master with no profit earned.

The gold coin entrusted to each of us is our personalities created in God’s image. A little known Vatican II document, the Declaration on Christian Education, has something to say about our personalities. It says that the purpose of education is to assist youngsters in developing their personalities, in turning their single gold coin into five of ten.

We know that at our deaths we must be in the state of grace, and we know we will be judged on our kindness to those in need. But there is a third thing on which we will be judged. We will also be judged on the degree to which we have developed or personalities, making them to more and more clearly reflect the beauty of their maker.