Tag: wealth

“For men it is impossible, but not for God.” | Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (10:17-27, today’s readings)

So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For men it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.”

Jesus responds to a man’s question: “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He reminds him of the commandments and lists several, to which the man says he has kept since his youth. Mark tells us that Jesus looks at him with love and says, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” The man becomes saddened by this statement because he has many possessions. Jesus comments privately to the disciples how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God, repeating the statement twice. Seeing the astonishment of the disciples as they question who can be saved, Jesus says that with man it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God. The glad cries of freedom the psalmist sings of spring from remaining close to the Lord. And how is this accomplished? As Sirach says, “Stand firm in the way set before you, in prayer to the Most High God.”

God, help me today remember and live out the words of the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” If Jesus, who was rich, became poor, how can I follow his example and become poor even as I receive all of your gifts and blessings? His loving response to the man to sell his possessions is an invitation for me to examine my level of detachment from material goods and to consider how those resources can serve others. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” Jesus says. Give me the grace to let go of worldly wealth for the sake of loving service to others. In doing your will, Lord, the hope of the treasure in heaven awaits. How much of that is in standing firm in the way you have set before me? Saint Katherine Drexel, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“. . . and the last will be first.” | Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 10:28-31)

Peter began to say to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.”

Picking up from where yesterday’s Gospel left off, today’s passage begins as Peter responds to Jesus’ teaching about selling material possessions, giving to the poor, and only then following him to enter the kingdom of God here and now, and to be a partaker of eternal life. Peter affirms that he has given up everything for the sake of the Gospel and for Jesus, who then reveals something of the reward awaiting him in heaven: “there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters . . . who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age.” In teaching that “many that are first will be last, and the last will be first,” Jesus encourages us to trust in God’s fidelity and promises and emphasizes the ultimate reward of eternal life in the age to come.

God, help me keep in mind Peter’s response to Jesus and to his encounter with the rich man: “We have given up everything and followed you,” Peter said. Having followed Jesus for the rest of his life, Peter trusted and hoped in the Lord. This is the same man who would later write these words of encouragement as our first pope: “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“If someone should rise from the dead.” | Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 16:19-31)

And [the rich man] cried out, “Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.” Abraham replied, “My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.”

In this parable directed to the Pharisees, Jesus paints a stark contrast between the lives of two men: a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Lazarus, covered in sores, longs for the scraps discarded by the rich man. But after their deaths, their fates dramatically reverse. The rich man ends up in the netherworld, a place of torment, while Lazarus is carried by angels to the bosom of Abraham and exists in comfort and peace. The rich man, in his torment, sees Lazarus in the distance and calls out to Abraham for mercy, but Abraham explains that a great chasm separates them, making it impossible for Lazarus to help him. Abraham affirms that if the brothers of the rich man do not listen to the teachings already available to them—just as some who witnessed Christ’s resurrection are not persuaded—even a miraculous sign would not convince them. The reversal of fortune that the rich man experiences is a reminder that however great earthly wealth and status become, they count for nothing in one’s eternal destiny.

God, just as Lazarus lay at the door of the rich man unnoticed, opportunities large and small lie at my feet day after day, placed there by you, which I can choose to see or not see. The poverty that Lazarus experienced, though punishing to the body and to spirit, was nothing like the absolute state of destitution that the rich man experienced after death. Lord, give me the grace today—and whenever you present the opportunity to me—to recognize in the moment the need for compassion, justice, and attentiveness to your teachings. Teach me your mercy, Lord!

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“But God knows your hearts.” | Memorial of Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 16:9-15)

Jesus said to his disciples: “No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Jesus continues in today’s Gospel where yesterday’s left off. Addressing the disciples as the Pharisees overhear, he talks about the value of dishonest wealth compared with the true wealth of dependence on God. According to the New American Bible Revised Edition, mammon is “the Greek transliteration of a Hebrew or Aramaic word that is usually explained as meaning ‘that in which one trusts.'” To the Pharisees, as Luke tells us, that meant love of money. Jesus presents this to those who hear him in a paradoxical way in what appears to be a logical either-or fallacy: “You cannot serve God and mammon.” A closer look reveals no fallacy here but truth: “but God knows your hearts,” Jesus says, “for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.” What is left, then, but to serve God?

Father in heaven, help me embrace your will. Often far from embracing it and accomplishing it, your will for me in any given day seems to escape me altogether. That is why Jesus says, “If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?” You show mercy where mercy is most needed, to the one who can’t be trusted with true wealth. Give me the wisdom to discern what is true and the grace to know your will and to serve you.

From the Gospel acclamation: “Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.” Saint Martin of Tours, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4