The Unjust Steward: a figure of bad priests
by VP
Posted on Sunday July 31, 2022 at 01:00AM in Sermons
" Jesus said also to His disciples, There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods." —
St. Luke xvi. I.
I. His administration.
II. His disgrace.
III. His wastefulness.
1. Had a steward. In a general sense, under the term " steward " may be understood all men who have received gifts from God, whether in the order of nature or of grace ; for such are not owners, but simply administrators. In a more particular sense, however, the word represents Priests, and especially those who have the care of souls (as St. Anselm says), for they have committed to them the care and direction of the carnal. The Greek word, indeed, is " asconomus" which St. Jerome translates " dispenser," as he likewise uses the word to " dispense " and " dispensation " of the office of a steward. Now, who are the stewards and dispensers of the house of God if not Priests ?
Let us meditate on the Apostle's words, in which we are called " dispensers of the mysteries of God" (i Cor. iv. i) ; let us meditate on those other words in which he calls the Bishop and the Priest "the steward of God" (Tit. i. 7) ; let us profit by the exhortation of the Prince of the Apostles, "As every man hath received grace, ministering the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God" (i Pet. iv. 10). All the power which our Lord Jesus Christ, "the rich man," rich in Divine treasures, has conferred upon us, is but an administration and stewardship (says St. Bonaventure) with which He entrusts us for a time determined by Himself. Holy Mass, the Sacraments, the Ministry of the Word, are treasures of which we have the administration. What treasures are these ! what a dignity how surpassing human reason and understanding! (says St. Charles Borromeo.)
2. Was accused unto him. It was not a simple accusation, but public defamation, which induced his lord to take away from the unfaithful steward the administration of his goods. This signifies that, even if God were to suffer for a time the irregular lives of Priests, He would be provoked to punish them by the accusations of others. For, first, the devil is their accuser, called, as he is, " the accuser of our brethren" (Apoc. xii. 10). Next, the good Angels are their accusers, who see their care for the salvation of souls made of no avail through the wickedness and slothfulness of Priests. Again, the damned souls are their accusers, laying the blame of their ruin on the Confessor, the Preacher, the parish Priest, whose lack of zeal has caused their eternal ruin ; for it is the wont of impenitent sinners (says St. Augustin) to seek to accuse others of their own sins. The just also are their accusers, who would have been still more justified, and have avoided the pains of purgatory, had they been better instructed, exhorted, encouraged, and purified ; for it is written, "He that is just, let him be justified still" (Apoc. xxii. n). Finally, inanimate things are their accusers ; for God's temples squalid, profaned, and without worshipers — the sacred vestments torn, dirty, and ill-kept — ecclesiastical functions performed without the requisite ceremonies, without recollection, without modesty — the people ignorant, corrupt, and irreligious — all these things cry aloud to Heaven against the Clergy. " Their cry went up unto God" (Exod. ii. 23). "I will deliver My flock from their mouth" (Ezech. xxxiv. 10). Our Saviour speaks, then, of this defamation in order that Priests, having (as St. Bonaventure says) a natural horror of infamy, should not abuse the treasures committed to them. Let us examine ourselves as to the impression which these terrible truths produce upon our heart, and if we are not made to tremble we may be assured that we are in danger.
3. That he had wasted his goods. It is not said that the steward injured his lord, for the latter was so rich that he could sustain no loss ; nor is it said that he was a thief, for he gained nothing for himself. It is simply said that he "wasted," as the prodigal son wasted ; that is to say, he lost that which belonged to his master and others, because he distributed not the goods as he ought." He doth not distribute with right understanding that which was to be had, in like manner also that which was not to be had" (Eccl. xx. 19). When goods, health, talents, eloquence, supernatural lights, graces " gratis data" are not employed in the way which God has prescribed, they are "wasted ;" and, therefore, when priests dispense not these goods according to our Lord's will, but only so as to satisfy their passions, their are "wasteful" stewards. Woe to them if they find themselves in this state, and seek not to remedy it !
" O Lord, my heart was not right with Thee, nor was my counsel faithful in Thy covenant : be merciful, and forgive my sins." — From Pt. lxxvii. 37.
" A dispensation is committed to me ... I will not abuse my power." — From I Cor. ix. 17, 18. "
Source: adapted Meditations for the use of the clergy : for every day in the year. On the Gospels for the Sundays, Volume 3