Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 473
Lectionary: 473
Brothers and
sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
Responsorial PsalmLK 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
R. (see 68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has
come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
GospelLK 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd
said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Meditation: "One's
life does not consist in the abundance of possessions"
Have you
ever tried to settle a money dispute or an inheritance issue? Inheritance
disputes are rarely ever easy to resolve, especially when the relatives or
close associates of the deceased benefactor cannot agree on who should get what
and who should get the most. Why did Jesus refuse to settle an inheritance
dispute between two brothers? He saw that the heart of the issue was not
justice or fairness but rather greed and possessiveness.
The ten
commandments were summarized into two prohibitions – do not worship false idols
and do not covet what belongs to another. It's the flip side of the two great
commandments – love God and love your neighbor. Jesus warned the man who
wanted half of his brother's inheritance to "beware of all
covetousness." To covet is to wish to get wrongfully what another
possesses or to begrudge what God has given to another. Jesus restates the
commandment "do not covet", but he also states that a person's life
does not consist in the abundance of his or her possessions.
August of
Hippo (354-430 AD) comments on Jesus' words to the brother who wanted more:
Greed wants to divide, just as love desires to gather. What is the
significance of “guard against all greed,” unless it is “fill yourselves with
love”? We, possessing love for our portion, inconvenience the Lord because of
our brother just as that man did against his brother, but we do not use the
same plea. He said, “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with
me.” We say, “Master, tell my brother that he may have my inheritance.” [Sermon 265.9]
Jesus reinforces his point with a parable about a foolish rich man. Why does Jesus call this wealthy landowner a fool? Jesus does not fault the rich man for his industriousness and skill in acquiring wealth, but rather for his egoism and selfishness – it's mine, all mine, and no one else's. This parable is similar to the parable of the rich man who refused to give any help to the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich fool had lost the capacity to be concerned for others. His life was consumed with his possessions and his only interests were in himself. His death was the final loss of his soul!
In the
parable of the rich fool Jesus gives a lesson on using material possessions. It
is in giving that we receive. Those who are rich towards God receive ample
reward – not only in this life – but in eternity as well.
Cyril of
Alexandria, a fifth century church father, comments on Jesus' word to be rich
toward God:
It is true that a person’s life is not from one’s possessions or
because of having an overabundance. He who is rich toward God is very blessed
and has glorious hope. Who is he? Evidently, one who does not love wealth but
rather loves virtue, and to whom few things are sufficient. It is one
whose hand is open to the needs of the poor, comforting the sorrows of those in
poverty according to his means and the utmost of his power. He gathers in the
storehouses that are above and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall
find the interest of his virtue and the reward of his right and blameless life. [Commentary on Luke, Homily 89]
In this little parable Jesus probes our heart – where is your treasure? Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. What do you treasure above all else?
"Lord
Jesus, free my heart from all possessivness and from coveting what belongs to
another. May I desire you alone as the one true treasure worth possessing above
all else. Help me to make good use of the material blessings you give me that I
may use them generously for your glory and for the good of others."
 Bigger Barns? |
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Monday of the
Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Steven Reilly, LC
Luke 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
"Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied
to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for
though one may be rich, one´s life does not consist of possessions."
Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a
bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ´What shall I do, for I do not have
space to store my harvest?´ And he said, ´This is what I shall do: I shall
tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and
other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many
good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But
God said to him, ´You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and
the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?´ Thus will it be for
the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to
God."
Introductory Prayer: O God, I come to you today with all my human
frailty. You know me better than I know myself. I am in your presence to
accompany and console you, not to seek consolation or a nice feeling for
myself. Even if I get distracted during our time together, I offer myself to
you completely.
Petition: Lord, give me wisdom to understand what is truly important in this life.
1. The Scorecard of Life: Driving down the road, a bumper sticker is
often seen: “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” This is a
contemporary rendition of the mantra of Jesus’ rich fool: “Eat, drink and be
merry.” Juggling credit cards and all kinds of financing schemes, many people
live life like the rich fool in today’s Gospel. Is the drive for material
pleasure, or security, impoverishing my soul?
2. A Bigger Barn vs. a Bigger Heart: What will truly make us happy? Glossy
magazine ads are, for some, a source of inspiration on this point. Basically,
they are about “bigger barns”: a hotter car, redder lipstick, spectacular
vacations. The rich fool believes that by increasing his capacity for
material pleasure, he will be happier. But it’s an illusion. Like the running
wheel for a gerbil, it is lots of movement without getting anywhere. We
invest energy and effort acquiring things, but the bigger barn brings us
little joy. That’s because our hearts -- not our barns -- are what really
need to be enlarged. Our heart longs for love. That Augustinian restlessness
will never leave us in peace until we have encountered the Lord who loves us
and discovered him in the relationships ordained by his providence.
3. When the Final Curtain Is Drawn: At the end of this parable, Jesus in essence
says, “You can’t take it with you.” There’s a place in Rome in which this is
graphically depicted. The Capuchin church of St Mary of the Immaculate
Conception, on Via Veneto, is affectionately known as the “Bone Church.”
Inside there is an amazingly designed and arranged display made completely
out of the bones of four thousand Capuchin friars! While it may strike at
modern sensitivities as somewhat morbid, like today’s Gospel it teaches an
important lesson. All those bones look alike. Unless you are a forensic
expert, you cannot tell who was fat or thin, smart or dull, handsome or
homely. Death is the great leveler. Earthly advantages dissolve. Material
goods stay in this world. We go to the Lord to render an account of our lives
at death. As the little sign on the wall of the Capuchin ossarium says, “One
day, we were like you. One day, you will be like us.”
Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, so often I find my eyes looking
on the good things of this world more as ends than means. I need to keep my
priorities straight always: you first and then everything else, inasmuch as
they lead me to you. Give me the wisdom to realize that life is short and it
must be lived for you alone.
Resolution: I will live charity today as fervently as if
I knew this day were my last.
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MONDAY,
OCTOBER 21, LUKE 12:13-21
(Romans 4:20-25; Psalm: Luke 1)
(Romans 4:20-25; Psalm: Luke 1)
KEY VERSE: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" (v 20).
READING: When an argument ensued between brothers regarding a family's inheritance, Jesus refused to intervene. Instead, he told a parable about the foolishness of focusing on material wealth. In the story, a rich man's barns were full, so he made plans to build even larger ones to store his harvest. The man presumed that he would have many years to enjoy his prosperity, but he gave no thought to God's plans. (Count the number of times the man says "I" and "my"). When death came unexpectedly, the man's earthly riches counted for nothing. He was a "fool" because he was so absorbed in his worldly goods that he lost sight of God's treasures that have eternal value (Mt 6:20).
REFLECTING: What are the "barns" I am building to hold my earthly treasures?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, you are more precious than any wealth I might possess.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
he has come to his people.
He has visited and redeemed his people.There is a tension in most of us between worldly ambitions and the call of the Gospel. Zechariah’s anthem at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, was a tribute to God’s mercy for the salvation of God’s people as taught by the prophets. Abraham’s strong faith in the promise of God was rewarded when he became the father of many nations. We too can be justified by faith as we also have access to the abundance of God’s grace and ‘rejoice in the hope of sharing in the glory of God’. The gospel warns us of the dangers of compromise and covetousness of earthly rewards which will impede our faith journey. The man who planned to ‘eat, drink and be merry’ had his worldly ambitions come to nothing. Lord, let me be ‘rich towards God’ and accept his promise of life with him.
October 23
St. Hilarion
(c. 291-371)
St. Hilarion
(c. 291-371)
Despite his best efforts to live in prayer and solitude, today’s
saint found it difficult to achieve his deepest desire. People were naturally
drawn to Hilarion as a source of spiritual wisdom and peace. He had reached
such fame by the time of his death that his body had to be secretly removed so
that a shrine would not be built in his honor. Instead, he was buried in his
home village.
St.
Hilarion the Great, as he is sometimes called, was born in Palestine. After his
conversion to Christianity he spent some time with St. Anthony of Egypt,
another holy man drawn to solitude. Hilarion lived a life of hardship and
simplicity in the desert, where he also experienced spiritual dryness that
included temptations to despair. At the same time, miracles were attributed to
him.
As his
fame grew, a small group of disciples wanted to follow Hilarion. He began a
series of journeys to find a place where he could live away from the world. He
finally settled on Cyprus, where he died in 371 at about age 80.
Hilarion
is celebrated as the founder of monasticism in Palestine. Much of his fame
flows from the biography of him written by St. Jerome.
LECTIO: LUKE
12,13-21
Lectio:
Monday, October 21, 2013
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty and everlasting God,
our source of power and inspiration,
give us strength and joy
in serving you as followers of Christ,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our source of power and inspiration,
give us strength and joy
in serving you as followers of Christ,
who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 12,13-21
A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master, tell my brother to give
me a share of our inheritance.' He said to him, 'My friend, who appointed me
your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?' Then he said to them, 'Watch,
and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in
possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.'
Then he told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who,
having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, "What am I to
do? I have not enough room to store my crops." Then he said, "This is
what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all
my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have
plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat,
drink, have a good time." But God said to him, "Fool! This very night
the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it
be then?" So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of
becoming rich in the sight of God.'
3) Reflection
● The episode in today’s gospel is found only in the Gospel of
Luke and does not have a parallel in the other Gospels. It forms part of the
long description of Jesus’ trip from Galilee to Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28),
in which Luke places most of the information which he succeeded to collect
concerning Jesus and which is not found in the other three Gospels (cf. Lk 1,
2-3). The gospel today gives the response of Jesus to the person who asked him
to be the mediator in the distribution of an inheritance.
● Luke 12, 13: A request to distribute an inheritance.
“One from the crowd told Jesus: Master, tell my brother to give me a share of
our inheritance”. Up until today, the distribution of an inheritance
among the living relatives is always a delicate question and, many times, it is
the occasion of disputes and of tensions without end. At that time, the
inheritance also had something to do with the identity of the person (1 K 21,
1-3) and with the survival (Num 27,1-11; 36,1-12). The greatest problem was the
distribution of the land among the sons of the deceased father. If the family
was numerous, there was the danger that the inheritance would be divided into
small pieces of land which would not have guaranteed survival of all. For this
reason, in order to avoid the breaking up or disintegration of the inheritance
and to maintain alive the name of the family, the firstborn or eldest received
double of what the other sons received (Dt 21,17. cf. 2Rs 2, 11).
● Luke 12, 14-15: Response of Jesus: attention to greed,
to cupidity. “Jesus answers: My friend, who appointed me your judge or the
arbitrator of your claims?” In the response of Jesus appears the
knowledge which he has of the mission. Jesus does not feel sent by God to
respond to the request to be arbitrator between the relatives who argue or
quarrel among themselves concerning the distribution of the inheritance. But
the request of this man leads him to the mission to orientate persons, because “Watch,
and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in
possessions, even when someone has more than he needs”. It was part of
his mission to clarify persons concerning the sense of life. The value of life
does not consist in having many things, rather in being rich for God (Lk 12,
21). Because when gain occupies the heart, it does not know how to distribute
the inheritance in an equitable way and with peace.
● Luke 12, 16-19: The parable that makes one think on
the sense of life. Then Jesus told a parable to help persons to
reflect on the sense of life: “There was a rich man who having had a good
harvest from his land, thought to himself: What am I to do? I have not enough
room to store my crops”. The rich man was very obsessed by the concern of his
goods which had increased in an unforeseen way because of an abundant harvest.
He thinks only of accumulating in order to guarantee a life without worries. He
says: This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones,
and store all my grain and my goods in them and I will say to my soul: My soul,
now you have plenty of good things laid for many years to come, take things
easy, eat, drink, have a good time”.
● Luke 12, 20: The first conclusion of the parable. “But
God said to him: ‘Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul,
and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” So it is when someone stores
up treasures for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God”. Death
is an important key to discover the true sense of life. It makes all things
relative, because it shows what perishes and that which remains. Anyone who
only seeks to have and forgets to be, loses everything at the hour of death.
Here we have a thought which appears very frequently in the Books of wisdom: Why
accumulate great quantities of goods in this life if you do not know what will
become of them, if you do not know what the heirs will do with what you will
leave them. (Qo 2, 12.18-19. 21).
● Luke 12, 21: second conclusion of the parable. “So it
is with someone who stores up treasures for himself instead of becoming rich in
the sight of God”.How can one become rich for God? Jesus gives several
suggestions and advice: Anyone who wants to be first, let him be last (Mt 20,
27; Mk 9, 35; 10, 44); it is better to give than to receive (Ac 20, 35); the
greatest is the smallest (Mt 18, 4; 23, 11; Lk 9, 48) he/she who loses his/her
life will save it (Mt 10, 39; 16, 25; Mk 8, 35; Lk 9, 24).
4) Personal questions
● The man asked Jesus to help him in the distribution of his
inheritance. And you, what do you ask Jesus in your prayer?
● Consumerism creates needs and awakens in us the desire of gaining. What do you do so as not to be a victim of gain brought about by consumerism?
● Consumerism creates needs and awakens in us the desire of gaining. What do you do so as not to be a victim of gain brought about by consumerism?
5) Concluding prayer
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,
serve Yahweh with gladness,
come into his presence with songs of joy! (Ps 100,1-2)
serve Yahweh with gladness,
come into his presence with songs of joy! (Ps 100,1-2)
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