Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 473
Reading 1
Ephesians 2:1-10
Brothers and sisters:
You were dead in your transgressions and sins
in which you once lived following the age of this world,
following the ruler of the power of the air,
the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient.
All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh,
following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses,
and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest.
But God, who is rich in mercy,
because of the great love he had for us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions,
brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
raised us up with him,
and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
that in the ages to come
he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace
in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;
it is not from works, so no one may boast.
For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for good works
that God has prepared in advance,
that we should live in them.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 100:1B-2, 3, 4AB, 4C-5
R. (3b) The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Give thanks to him; bless his name, for he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. The Lord made us, we belong to him.
Alleluia
Matthew 5:3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
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.”
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
The Reality of Greed
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.” Luke 12:13–15
What’s interesting in Jesus’ statement is that of all the people who ever walked the earth, no one is more worthy to be a “judge and arbitrator” of an injustice than Jesus Himself. Yet He refuses to intervene. Why is that? It appears to be a just request from the person, but instead of intervening Jesus tells a parable about greed.
Material possessions can be very seductive. That’s a fact. Yet many people have a very hard time admitting their attachment to possessions and money. They rationalize that they have worked hard, have earned what they have and should be able to indulge a bit. Some good-minded people who have many possessions appease their consciences by giving a small portion of what they have to charitable causes and then conclude that they can keep the rest for themselves. But what does Jesus think about that?
In and of themselves, material possessions are neither good nor bad. The problem is the sin of greed. Greed is an interior disposition by which a person becomes more attached to the passing things of this world than they are to God and His holy will. Though it might be possible to have many possessions and still remain interiorly detached from them, this is quite difficult. But having possessions is not the ultimate problem. Desiring possessions is the real problem. Therefore, even those with very little can fall into the same trap by becoming attached to what they do not have and by believing that the attainment of more will satisfy.
Jesus refused to act as “judge and arbitrator” in this case because it was clear to Him that the person making the request was struggling with greed. Jesus was far more concerned about this person’s interior attachments than He was about the inheritance being properly shared. Earthly justice means very little from the perspective of eternity. This may be hard for many to understand and accept. Doesn’t justice demand fairness? Not if the desire to be treated fairly is based on some sin such as greed. In that case, it is far better for the soul to be cheated out of their inheritance than it is to receive their fair share. In fact, if a person does struggle with greed, one of the best things for their soul might be to be cheated out of their own possessions. This will only be understood when we see that spiritual riches are infinitely greater than material riches.
Reflect, today, upon your interior desires. Look at them honestly. What do you desire the most in life? Do you dream of becoming rich? If so, does that desire consume much of your thinking? Reflect upon the scenario in which you were supposed to receive a very large inheritance but were cheated out of it. How would you react? The right reaction would be to care more for the soul of the person who cheated you than to care about actually being cheated. A person who is fully detached from material possessions will care little about losing such an inheritance or gaining one. It will truly matter not. If that is hard to accept, know that this is a sign that your soul is too attached to the things of this world. Pray for freedom from all greed. That is the only way to obtain the true riches of God.
Reflection 2
By Fr. Martin Hogan
We all place a high value on security, in its various forms. We like our lives to be financially secure; we like to feel that our job is secure, that our home is secure, that our health is secure, that we live we a secure society. Security is a very legitimate human need and requirement. In this part of the world we are likely to have more security that people who live in other parts of the world. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus speaks about security of life. He says that a person’s life is not made secure by what he owns. Possessions can only give us so much security and no more. The man in the parable we have just heard made the mistake of thinking that possessions would provide him with total security of life. Jesus declares in the gospel reading that it is the person who is rich in the sight of God who will be secure in the ultimate and true sense of that word. We are rich in the sight of God when we live our lives generously, when we give of ourselves, as Jesus did, rather than hoarding for ourselves, like the man in the parable. We pray that the same generous spirit that filled the life of Jesus would also fill our lives, so that we would know true and lasting security.
Reflection 3
Bu Fr. Lluc TORCAL Monk of Santa Maria de Poblet
(Santa Maria de Poblet, Tarragona, Spain)
“Though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions”
Today, if we do not close our eyes and our ears, the Gospel’s clarity and directness will strike through us: “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions” (Lk 12:15). Where does man's life come from?
We know quite well where Jesus' life comes from, because He, Himself, has told us: “For just as the Father has life in himself, so also he gave to his Son the possession of life in himself” (Jn 5:26). We all know that Jesus' life does not come only from the Father, but it also consists in abiding by His will, as the Father's will is the nourishment for Jesus, and it amounts to carrying out His work of salvation among men, by offering His life for His friends, which is the greatest sign of love. Jesus' life is, therefore, a life totally received from the Father and totally handed over to the same Father and, through the love to the Father, to all men. How can human life, therefore, be sufficient per se? How can it be denied that our life is a gift we have received and, because of that, if nothing else, we have to be grateful for it? “Nobody can claim to be the master of his own life” (St. Jerome).
Following this same logic, the missing question could only be: how can our life have any meaning at all if it is a life turned in upon itself, and is satisfied by saying: “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” (Lk 12:19)? If Jesus' life is a gift received and a gift always given with love, our own life —that we cannot deny we have also received— ought to become, following Jesus' life, a total gift to God and to our brothers, because “Whoever loves his life loses it” (Jn 12:25).
Prayers
Most generous Lord, You bestow mercy in superabundance. Your grace and love are all I need in life. By obtaining You and Your mercy, I obtain the one and only source of fulfillment in life. Please free me from earthly greed, and help me to see the things of this world as You see them. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, free my heart from all possessiveness 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.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 294: Never Tire of Contemplating the Trinity
Do you understand what you will be doing for all eternity? Heaven, if we are blessed to obtain it, will be an existence of eternal contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity. Though there is no time in Heaven, imagine if there were. And then imagine contemplating the Trinity for a million years in a row. Would you eventually become tired of this life and find boredom in it? Never in a million years and beyond! It’s essential that you regularly remind yourself of the life you will live in Heaven in this perpetual contemplation of God. Though there is no way you can understand what this life will be like, you must try to comprehend it nonetheless. At very least, understanding that you can never understand and comprehending that you will never comprehend is at least a good start. The Trinity is a mystery that we will never solve; rather, it’s a mystery that we must enter into. Begin your eternal contemplation of the Trinity today and allow this contemplation to draw you into the infinite Mercy of God (See Diary #1439).
Ponder today this great mystery. It may seem beyond you, and it most certainly is. But try anyway to spend some time trying to comprehend the unfathomable mystery of God. In truth, this is not something you can do on your own. Only God can draw you into this holy contemplation, but you must accept His invitation. Say “Yes” today and allow the merciful hand of our Lord to begin drawing you into the immense depths of His love.
Oh Most Holy Trinity, I adore You with profound adoration and love. Please take hold of my soul and draw me into the mystery of Your very life. Reveal to me the secrets of Your inner heart and help me to begin my journey into eternity with You today. I love You, my God. Help me to love You with all my heart. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I trust in You.
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