Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) Father Eduardo Fugoso SVD – SVD Retreat House, Tagaytay City
Tuesday 8th Week in Ordinary Time
Three boys were bragging about their fathers. One said, “My father scribbles a few words, calls it a poem, and gets P500.” The second replied, “That’s nothing. My father scribbles a few words, calls it a song, and gets P5,000.” The third boy smiled: “I’ve got you both beat. My father scribbles a few words, calls it a sermon, and it takes eight people to collect all the money!”
Humor aside, this story rings true for me as a priest. Before ordination, I depended on my parents and siblings for my needs, which could have been a burden on the seminary community. But after ordination, gifts and support began to flow from the people I serve. Their generosity reminds me that priesthood is not a one-way street: while I care for my flock, they also care for me.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures His disciples: “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matthew 19:29). Responding to His call often means leaving family and familiar comforts. Yet God’s generosity far surpasses ours.
My family’s sacrifice in offering me to the priesthood, and my own willingness to leave home, are but small fractions compared to God’s generosity. His blessings overflow in this life — through the care of the faithful, through unexpected gifts, through joy in ministry. And beyond all these, His ultimate promise of eternal life outweighs every human measure of generosity.
The priestly life, and indeed every Christian vocation, is a testimony that God cannot be outdone in generosity. When we give ourselves to Him, He multiplies our offering and returns it with abundance.
“Lord, thank You for Your generosity. Teach me to give freely, trusting that You will provide more than I could ever imagine.”
