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Unprofitable Servants

And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to (this) mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

 “Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?

Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’?

Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?

So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'”

From the Gospel according to Luke

Luke 17:5-10

Dear Fr. Angelo, volunteers and visitors,

Beautiful words have been written by you, dear Father, regarding this Gospel passage.

Therefore, I restrict myself only to praying and thanking the Lord for the gift of your work and your enlightening answers.

I thank our dear confrere Fr. Roberto M. Viglino op.

I also thank the volunteers for their work in this endeavor:

  • the coordinators of the translators’ groups (among them, a special thanks goes to Riccardo Mugnaini ofs, Annelies Rastner, Ana Christine Segobia Silveira, Sr. Luminiza op);
  • the proofreaders (the over-eighty-years-old dean David Street, Simona Filippi, Sara Bellei, Lucilla, Sarah N., Lorenzo, Tom);
  • the translators (we have reached peaks of 100 volunteers, naming them all would be impossible, but truly persevering are translators Chiara P., Debora C., Lorenzo R., Mirko Baglioni, Germana, Emanuele, Guido Teodoro, Nicola B., Antonio A., Maurizio, Marta G., Giulia L.Gabriele C., Susanna F., Paola B., Mariana, Alessandra Pellizzaro, Thomas, Laura A. Ustáriz C., Francesca R., Nicola B., Chloé A., Katia, Aurora M.);
  • the readers of the YouTube channel (including Luciana, Angela, Chiara, Sara B. and Silvia);
  • the volunteers of the Dominican Friends Editions (Eugenio Licata and others);
  • WordPress operators (Angelo Gastaldo);
  • volunteers who process the texts (including Alessandra A. and Marco Z.);
  • cartoonist Giovanni Barale;
  • the Dominican tertiaries (Alberto Rabossi, Gabriele Ciampalini, Melissa Capone, Mariarosaria Catena, Enrico Monaci).

I also thank some volunteers who had to stop their work with us, because they were engaged in study activities, or because they found work, and those, who did not persevere, to whom our thanks go and an invitation to return to work in the vineyard of the Lord.

Then we thank our visitors, inviting them to follow us and to make us grow also by active participation on social channels and to come forward as volunteers, translators and proofreaders (native speakers or experts of foreign languages).

We thank the many sites that use our articles, disseminate and promote them.

We thank the confreres and friends of Dominican Study Editions and editor Fr. Giorgio M. Carbone op.

A final reminder I feel like making to myself and our volunteers: let us remain humble, for we are useless servants! With faith, however, let us work, persevere and love, so that the merciful gift of our calling does not remain in vain, if we struggle to get ahead in volunteering, let us entrust ourselves to Mary and with Her daily repeat our fiat. Despite the difficulties, criticism and nastiness we receive sometimes, let us hold on to the hope that this work will bring unexpected and undeserved fruits of conversions and vocations. May our activity be animated by charity and faith, delivered and offered generously into the virginal hands of Mary, who spreads Her mantle of protection and blessing over us all.

May the Lord bless us through the intercession of the B.V. Mary, the Holy Father Dominic and St. Baudolino.