A Catholic priest (not sure of his name) wrote the following in regard to
Sunday's Mass Gospel reading, St Luke 16:19 (full Gospel passage follows)
Emphasis and bracketed words are mine (Forkintheroad7)
My sisters and brothers, in the Gospel of our Mass this weekend [
St Luke 16:19 (following)] we have Jesus telling us the story of the rich man who feasted sumptuously every day and refused to share even the crumbs from his table with a starving beggar at his gate. Try to picture the sceneā¦ We are all tainted with selfishness. We do not find it easy to share our possessions with others. We find it even harder to share ourselves with them. But we are all beggars before God. We need [to beg for Godās] forgiveness especially for our refusal to share. We should pray for this forgiveness as we participate in our Sunday [Mass].
No human being, much less a follower of Jesus, can say that he is responsible only for himself, and that his neighborās plight is none of his business. Otherwise, he speaks like Cain who [denied being his] brotherās keeper, and acts like Divesāthe rich man in [this] parableāwho was so cushioned by his lavish lifestyle that he wasā¦ oblivious to the presence of a needy person at his gate and
treated him as if he were less than nothing, or part of the scenery. The frightening thing about the parable of Jesus is this: Dives, the rich man, was obviously a believer.
He had heard what the Scriptures had to say, but clearly its message had not penetrated beyond his ears. It had not converted him. His heart remained like a stone. And there is no place in the Kingdom of Heaven for a person like thatā¦
It is not easy to convert the rich. It is like this:
the more people have, the more they have to lose. The more people have to lose, the more fearful they becomeā¦ the more defensive they getā¦ The result is that they end up with a withered heart. And it is [virtually] impossible to breathe life into a withered heart. To close oneās heart is to begin to die, to open oneās heart is to begin to live. At the end of the day, it is not what we carry in ourā¦ wallets or bank accounts that matters. What matters is what we carry in our hearts. That is where the rich man was found wanting.
Poverty of the heart is the worst form of poverty. May our generous Lord inspire us to be generous of heart like Him to those in need.
Gospel of Luke 16:19
The Rich Man and Lazarus
There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich manās table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abrahamās side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, āFather Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.ā
āBut Abraham replied, āSon, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.ā
āHe answered, āThen I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.ā
āAbraham replied, āThey have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.ā
āāNo, father Abraham,ā he said, ābut if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.ā
He said to him, āIf they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.āā
Me: Amazing--wouldn't believe even if one were to rise from the dead!
That's some serious obstinacy
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