Enkindle in Them the Fire of Your Love: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C) - August 1, 2010

Liturgical readings

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalm 90
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
Luke 12:13-21

"Growing rich in the sight of God."

Jesus teaches the parable of the rich fool. Through this parable, we can learn two very important counsels in the Christian life: to "avoid greed in all its forms" and to "grow rich in the sight of God". Both point to a good moral direction in life - the former only phrased in a negative context, while the latter in a positive one.

In one of his homilies, Pope St. Gregory reemphasizes this teaching of Christ when he says:

"Whatever you possess must not possess you...let not your soul be overpowered by the love of this world's goods...in other words, make use of temporal things, but set your hearts on what is eternal."

What rings true in the time of Jesus (ca. 30 A.D.), and in the time of St. Gregory (ca. 540-604 A.D.) is also true for our present age. Though the world is much advanced economically and technologically compared to their times, many of us are still tempted to greed and the love of riches - more or less in the same way as the people in Jesus' and St. Gregory's time. The only way we can avoid and conquer this basic temptation is by making our relationship with God central and above all other things in life.

Points for reflection: What telltale signs in our life make evident to us that we are being swayed to trust in possessions more than in God? What can we do to revive our confidence, faith and trust in God alone?