Tomorrow, March 9,2010—Tuesday, the First Reading is according to the Book of Daniel Chapter Three Verses Twenty Five, Thirty Four to Forty Three (Dn 3:25,):

 

Daniel’s Three Friends Are Sentenced to Death

 

“Then why do I see four men walking around in the fire?” he asked.  “They are not tied up, and they show no sigh of being hurt—and the fourth one looks like an angel.” 

 

Our Song of Thanksgiving is from Psalms Chapter Twenty Five Verses Four to Nine (Ps 25:4-9):

 

A Prayer for Guidance and Protection

 

Teach me your ways, O Lord; make them known to me.  Teach me to live according to your truth, for you are my God, who saves me.  I always trust in you.

 

Remember, O Lord; your kindness and constant love which you have shown from long ago.  Forgive the sins and errors of my youth in your constant love and goodness, remember me, Lord!

 

Because the Lord is righteous and good, he teachers sinners the path they should follow.  He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them his will.

 

The Holy Gospel is according to Matthew Chapter Eighteen Verses Twenty One to Thirty Five (Mt 18:21-35):

 

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

 

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times I have to forgive him? Seven times?” 

 

“No, not seven times,” answered Jesus; ‘but seventy times seven, because the kingdom of heaven is like this.  Once there was a king who decided to check on his servants’ accounts.  He had just begun to do so when one of them was brought in who owed him millions of dollars.  The servant did not have enough to pay his debt, so the king ordered him to be sold as a slave, with his wife and his children and all that he had, in order to pay the debt. 

 

The servant fell on his knees before the king.  ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay you everything!’  The king felt sorry for him, so he forgave him the debt and let him go.  “Then the man went out and met one of his fellow servants who owed him a few dollars.  He grabbed and started checking him.

 

‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he said.  His fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back!’  But he refused; instead, he had thrown into jail until he should pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very upset and went to the king and told him everything.

 

So he called the servant in.  ‘You worthless slave!’ he said.  ‘I forgave you the whole amount you owed me, just because you want me to.  You should have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you.  The king was very angry, and he sent the servant to jail to be punished until he should pay back the whole amount’

 

And Jesus concluded, “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” 

Every dependent should be taught how to work for money.  Our children, our siblings and our parents should be taught to have entrepreneurial skills.  Each family member should cooperate and should be well informed of our finances.  They should be fully aware of the costs of daily living in order for them to be disciplined when it comes to money.

February this year, I bought a white board where I write and update the daily expenses of our household.  This is one way of raising their level of awareness to improve their lives by improving their skills may it be job skills and most importantly, entrepreneurial skills.  Entrepreneurial skills should be developed in every one’s mind.  Every resource we have should be fully utilized to earn income that can cover our daily expenses and eventually, lead us to retire early.  We cannot be a hero for our dependents for a long time.  We can only help and challenge them to become financially independent.  Teach a man how to fish so he can provide for his own.

Jesus did not teach us to be dependent on anyone.  We are endowed with abilities for us to succeed and that is what we must develop.  Start educating your dependents with the practicalities of life and do not make them totally dependent on you because when you are gone, they will be helpless.

Imagine yourself that you cannot take care of your dependents anymore and observe how they’re going to find ways how they would live.  Start educating your children as they are still young.  Discipline them as they can still be disciplined.  Teach them how to care for their own selves so when you’re gone, they can move on quickly.

A Blessed Day to all of you.

Your Financial Advisor—Catherine Lopez-Pepito