Christ as Savior, El Greco, c.1600

Readings

New American Bible (Philippines, USA)

Jerusalem Bible (Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, Scotland)

Gospel (NAB) Lk 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 all who store up treasure for themselves
but are not rich in what matters to God.”

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One thing that the gospel says to me is that I should be constantly thanking God for everything. There is nothing I have that isn't a gift from God, life itself, faith, my vocation to be a priest, my family, my friends, my daily bread.

When I was growing up in Ireland people constantly said 'Thank God', especially in the context of hearing of the recovery, for example, of someone who had been ill, or someone rescued from a dangerous situation. A more emphatic expression, especially when it comes from the heart, is 'Thanks be to God!' When people asked 'How are you?' we'd often reply 'I'm fine, thank God'.

Filipinos do the same. I remember years ago giving enough money to buy a meal to a woman and her daughter of about 13 who clearly were tired and hungry. The girl looked at me with the most beautiful smile I've ever seen and said 'Salamat sa Ginoo!' 'Thanks to the Lord!' She didn't thank me but rather invited me to join her and her mother in thanking God for being blessed with enough to buy their next meal.

The man in the parable didn't see things as that young girl did.

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Storing Up Treasures in Heaven

Biblical Reflection for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB     

TORONTO, JULY 28, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In addition to setting the stage for Luke's Gospel parable on possessions and hoarding, today's first reading from Ecclesiastes (1:2; 2:21-23) drives home the fleeting nature of life and the inexorable passage of time with blunt realism: "Vanity of vanities [...] vanity of vanities, all is vanity" (1:2).

The word "vanity" usually refers to an excessive love of one's appearance, but in the book of Ecclesiastes it has a different meaning. The English word means "emptiness" or "nothing," so a "vanity of vanities" means something like "a complete waste of time." The author of Ecclesiastes calls himself "Qoheleth," which is translated "one who assembles" or "teacher." He is cynical about life, having lived a long time and seen the futility of much of his work. His book ends with a simple truth: The only worthwhile thing about life is the knowledge of God.

Full text here.

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Affluenza

Lawrence Lew O.P.

Our global culture is marked by what has been called 'selfish capitalism', and our consumerist economy is fuelled by our willingness to believe that life is incomplete without yet more stuff. How often have we been enticed to believe that a new mobile phone, or package holiday, or some other amazing product, is just what we need to make our life more complete? All earth's goods are indeed good, but the problem, as social psychologists note, is that increased consumption does not satisfy our deepest human need for love. Instead, materialism drives us to work harder while neglecting our vital personal relationships, and true human goods. And so, as Qoheleth says: '[Man's] work is a vexation; even in the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity'.

The feeling of discontent and restlessness that afflicts us because we have looked to consumerism as a path to happiness and self-worth has been called 'affluenza'. Although the word is new, the situation affluenza describes is perennial. At its root is one of the 'capital sins' identified by the Christian tradition, namely, greed.

Full article here.