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Homily stories

18 Sep 2016 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Some seminarians were sitting around in the recreation room. Their casual conversation soon turned to kidding one another, as young men do. Each one got ragged over some minor matter: One was a champion at procrastination, another getting caught up in fantasy football, and so on. Finally, they turned to John. John had recently taken a part-time job at a local women’s college, working in the library. Knowing that John was a solid guy, who also really enjoyed women’s company, they held forth on how he should be concerned about his vows. After all, several nights a week, he was “surrounded by all those young women.” John played along, finally saying “Well, if you guys can compromise on poverty with expensive cell phones or obedience by sneaking out to bars after hours, then so can I with celibacy.” A priest who was in the room pretty much unnoticed noisily put down his newspaper and looked directly at all the young men: “If you compromise one vow, you compromise them all.” There was silence. No one became defensive or argumentative or justified their behavior saying, “We were just kidding.” They knew he was right. They recalled Jesus’ words: “You cannot serve two masters.”

Authors Father Larry Janowski O.F.M.

serving two masters

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21 Sep 2025 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

I know from experience that you can’t serve two masters—or at least two bosses. At the final interview for a position that I thought was going to be a dream job, the hiring manager told me that she wanted to make me an offer—but that the position was going to be somewhat different than originally described. She said I would report to her for most of my responsibilities but also to the head of the organization for other tasks that were being newly added to the job. This last-minute change and vague reporting arrangement felt like a red flag (and there were others as well), but for a variety of reasons, this opportunity seemed golden, so I said yes. Huge mistake. I quickly realized that when you have two bosses, they each expect to be your priority. My primary manager consumed all of my time with mounting demands—while the organization head was exasperated with me for not adequately addressing what she wanted. When I tried to talk to them both about my impossible situation, neither thought it was her issue to solve. Thankfully, I was able to move on to an employer with a clear chain of command, reasonable expectations, and healthy collaboration. With great relief, I could earn mammon with priorities in order.

Authors Jennifer Tomshack

serving two masters

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