6 November 2026 · Latin Rite
Open in the Daily Word appAlso: Syro-Malabar Rite · Syro-Malankara Rite · മലയാളം
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” Luke 16:8
The parable of the dishonest manager surprises every reader. Jesus does not praise his dishonesty; he praises his shrewdness. Facing dismissal, the manager acts quickly and decisively to secure his future. Jesus' point is a challenge: worldly people put great energy into worldly goals; why are the children of light so slow and careless about eternal ones?
Paul gives the reason for urgency: “our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ”. Some live as “enemies of the cross of Christ”, with their minds set on earthly things. Christians are not careless about this world, but they live in it as citizens of another, and they manage everything they have as stewards who will give an account.
Theme: “Stewards with a heavenly passport.”
We will give an account; so let us be shrewd for eternity, as citizens of heaven.
“For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14
“So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’” Luke 16:2
Apply: Examine your conscience tonight as a steward.
“Go to the ant, you lazybones; consider its ways, and be wise.” Proverbs 6:6
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” Luke 16:8
Apply: Set one concrete spiritual goal for this month.
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”” Psalm 122:1
“For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14
Apply: Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament this First Friday.
We are stewards, not owners.
Live today as citizens of heaven.
Take-home resolution: Write one spiritual goal for November and keep it where you see it.
Dear friends, today's parable surprises everyone. A dishonest manager is about to lose his job, so he quickly reduces the debts of his master's debtors to win friends for the future. And the master praises him (Luke 16:8). Jesus does not praise his dishonesty; he praises his shrewdness.
The point is a challenge. People of this world put great energy into their worldly plans: careers, houses, investments. Why are the children of light so slow and careless about eternal things? If we planned our souls the way we plan our savings, how different our lives would be.
Paul gives the reason for urgency: our citizenship is in heaven, and from there we expect a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20–21). We are citizens of another country, living here for a while.
This is the first Friday of the month, a day to honour the Heart of Jesus. Let us be shrewd for the Kingdom: one clear spiritual goal for this November, written down and kept where we can see it. Amen.
Children, we plan our games and our holidays. Let us also plan to be close to Jesus: one prayer, one good deed, every day!
Lord Jesus, you have made me a steward of your gifts. Make me wise and quick for your Kingdom, faithful in managing what I have, and always mindful that my citizenship is in heaven. Amen.
Paul reminds the Philippians that their true citizenship is in heaven. Jesus tells a strange parable about a dishonest manager who is praised for his shrewdness. Both readings ask where we are really heading and how wisely we use the time we have.
Setting.
Philippi was a Roman colony. Many of its people were proud to be citizens of Rome, enrolled in the far-off capital and living by its laws. Paul uses this pride to describe Christians: their true city is heaven, and they live here as its citizens. He contrasts them with people who live “as enemies of the cross”; who they were is debated, but they seem to have been self-indulgent believers who avoided the way of suffering.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.” (3:18)
Paul weeps over them; he does not mock them.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (3:20)
“He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory” (3:21)
Christian hope is not an escape from the body but its transformation. This verse is a basis for the Church’s faith in the resurrection of the body.
How the Church reads it.
The ancient Letter to Diognetus says that Christians live in their own countries as sojourners; they pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven (in substance, ch. 5). The Church teaches that this hope does not make us careless about the earthly city but gives us a stronger reason to serve it (Gaudium et Spes 39).
Setting.
Luke 16 is about the use of wealth. A rich man’s manager, an agent with authority over his master’s accounts, is accused of wasting the property and is about to be dismissed. He quickly reduces the debts of his master’s debtors so that they will receive him into their homes later.
Structure.
Key words.
Verse by verse.
“I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.” (16:3)
The manager faces his future honestly and acts at once. That is the point of comparison.
“And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (16:8)
Some scholars think the manager removed his own commission or a hidden interest from the bills, so that he was sacrificing his own gain. Either way, the parable does not praise the cheating but the decisiveness in a crisis.
How the Church reads it.
The Catechism calls prudence “the charioteer of the virtues”, the virtue that disposes us to see our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means to reach it (CCC 1806). The parable asks Christians to bring to the kingdom the energy and intelligence others bring to their business.
Does Jesus praise dishonesty?
No. The master (and Jesus) praise the manager’s shrewdness, not his fraud; he is still called “the dishonest manager”. Jesus often uses unlikely figures to make a point, like the unjust judge in 18:1–8.