How can I, on this Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time—when the Gospel challenges me with, “What #credit is that to you❓”—reconcile Pope Francis’s call for rural people to have access to credit and the Synod on Synodality’s emphasis on love that reaches out in the Spirit, with my own mission at The Glenn to secure land and livelihood for my family using Laudato si’ principles, while I both pray for a miracle for my son Daniel through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen and simultaneously prepay his funeral arrangements, trusting in God’s will❓
Lectio Divina on the word “credit“
Reading I
The LORD will reward each man for his justice and faithfulness. Yet, as I labor at The Glenn, seeking to provide for my family and secure our land, I wonder what credit I truly seek. Is it the tangible credit of ownership, security, and stability, or the deeper credit of faith, perseverance, and trust in God’s providence❓ As I pray for a miracle for Daniel through the intercession of the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, I must remember that my faithfulness, not my striving, is what the Lord ultimately sees.
Responsorial Psalm
The Lord is kind and merciful. If I believe this, then I must accept that God’s mercy extends beyond my human grasp of credit. The world values credit as something earned—financial, social, or even spiritual. But in God’s economy, grace is freely given, not something to be bargained for. Whether Daniel’s healing comes in this life or in the life to come, I must trust that God’s mercy will never fail him or me.
Reading 2
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. My heart longs to pass The Glenn to Daniel, to see him thrive, to see him continue the work my family has poured our life into. Yet, if I cling too tightly to the credit of this world—land, legacy, and labor—I risk forgetting that we are ultimately called to a heavenly inheritance. This farm is but a temporary trust; our true home is with God.
Alleluia
Alleluia, alleluia. I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you. Love does not seek credit for itself. It does not keep accounts or demand repayment. My love for Daniel, for my family, and for this land is not measured by financial security or earthly guarantees. Instead, it is measured in the sacrifices made, the prayers lifted, and the trust placed in God’s will. Love is its own credit, paid forward in faith and hope. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say,
love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you❓
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you❓
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you❓
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
the love that reaches out to aid those in need and the song of praise that exults in the Spirit.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
“Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give, and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.”
If all my striving is for earthly credit, then what credit is that to me❓ If I only love those who love me, give to those who can repay me, or trust only when I see results, then what credit is that to me❓ True faith is found in surrender, in loving without condition, and in trusting without proof. So, I lay down my fears, my need for certainty, and my desperate grasp for control, and I ask myself again—
“‘…what credit is that to you❓‘”
That means that apart from the ownership of property, rural people must have access to means of technical education, credit, insurance, and markets”.[77]
FROM PARAGRAPH 94 OF THE ENCYCLICAL LETTER LAUDATO SI’ OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS ON CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME