XXVII- O.T.Hb 1:2-3,2:2-4;Tim 1:6-9,13-14; Lk 17:5-10

All readings today speak a lot about "faith” and how it works in our lives. While the Apostles ask for an increase in the quantity of their Faith Jesus reminds them that the quality of their Faith is more important. Using a master-servant parable, Jesus also teaches them that for Faith to be effective, it must be linked with trust, obedience and total commitment— an active submission to God with a willingness to do whatever He commands. 

The Apostles had been traveling with Jesus for more than a year: living with him, hearing him preach, watching him perform miracles and change people's lives. They had been his disciples long enough to start realizing that they weren't very good disciples at all. They still didn't understand many things that Jesus said. They still couldn't help people as much as Jesus did. It would have been tempting for them, at that point, to get discouraged. But instead, they go up to Jesus one afternoon during a lull in their activities, and they ask for his help. They ask him to increase their faith. Jesus' answer is mysterious. He looks at them and smiles. He must have been glad that they had asked for help instead of abandoning the mission. Then he tells them that they don't need more faith, they just need to use the faith they already have.

It is not the size of our faith that is going to move the mountain. If it is the size of our faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain the more faith we would need to move it. The bigger the obstacle the more strength we’d need to climb it. The more serious the illness, a faith even greater would be required to overcome it. The more serious the sin the more faith we would need in order to have it forgiven. That kind of thinking, kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives. If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter? The size of a key ring doesn’t matter - key rings don’t open doors but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors. Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts.

Prophet Habakkuk, whom we listened to in the First Reading, stresses the power of faith too - but he also gives us a clearer idea of what exactly faith is. Habakkuk lived in the 6^th century BC, when Israel had been conquered by the Babylonians and the majority of Jews had been deported. It was as if a hurricane, like Katrina, had swept over not just one city, but the entire country. Habakkuk is in the middle of it all, he sees the devastated city and countryside, burned and barren, and strewn with corpses. He feels the pinch of poverty and destruction. And he does the most natural thing in the world: he complains to God about it: "How long, O Lord? I cry for help, but you do not listen!"

This teaches us an important lesson: a strong faith doesn't mean we won't suffer and be confused in life. A strong faith doesn't take away our crosses, but a strong faith does show us where to turn when the crosses come: to God, the all-loving Father. God answers Habakkuk's prayer. He promises that he will act, that He will restore Israel's fortunes. He doesn't give all the details. In fact, he even seems to imply that it may take longer than Habakkuk would like: "If it delays," God says, "wait for it."

But God shows that he is not aloof from our sufferings.  He is watching over us, no matter what. He promises that if we continue to have faith in him, in spite of suffering and hardship, we "shall live". Faith isn't a problem-free philosophy - that's superficial and naïve. Faith is strength with length - it's the power to persevere through difficulties - the power that comes from knowing that our Father is in charge.

Doubleday book publishers put out a book of letters written by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta to her spiritual directors. The public and the media were shocked by these letters. Everyone thought that Mother Teresa was the happiest person in the world, that her faith was so strong that nothing bothered her. And that is exactly the wrong idea of what faith is. Mother Teresa is a saint. Her faith was mature, strong, and contagious - it moved mountains, and it’s still moving mountains. But it didn't make her crosses disappear. Her faith was so strong that she fulfilled her promise never to deny God anything that He asked - but it didn't take suffering out of her life.

I am going home tomorrow to visit my family, primarily to visit my nephew who is fighting lymphoma, lungs cancer. He is only 24, it is hard for my brother and rest of our family to see what he is going through now, but God has his own way of purifying us and making us closer to Him. His way of acting is beyond our grasp of things. But we can always trust him;  though we cannot see through his plan. Even a mature faith doesn’t make a smooth sailing in life.

Similar conditions can make people react differently to the situations depending on their faith. A row egg and a carrot react differently when they are boiled in hot water. Egg which is soft inside becomes hard and carrot which is hard becomes soft. Both responded to the same kind of external conditions but different reactions came from within. Hardships and darkness can make one person closer to God and another person bitter towards God.

What we need to do is to trust God unconditionally of his design for us and keep strengthening our faith. The Responsorial Psalm we heard today gives us one surefire way to activate the power of faith: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart."  Listening to the word of God will help us to fan into flame the gift of faith about which Paul spoke to us in the second reading. By receiving the Holy Eucharist, the Sacrament of faith let’s fan into flame God’s gift of faith in us and help us aflame others’ faith in Christ.

VISIT OF OUR LADY OF FATIMA- AT ST.TIMOTHY.

Next month, on October 13^th, Pope Francis is going to dedicate the world to Our Lady of Rosary. The Original Statue of Our Lady of Fatima is travelling to Rome for the dedication of this historic ceremony. The Statue of Our Lady of Fatima going around the whole world as ambassador of peace and reinforcing the message of Mary for Conversion.

The apparitions of the Virgin of Fatima in 1917 were in some respects a direct response to a plea from Pope Benedict XV, who implored the intercession of the Blessed Mother in bringing the great First World War to a halt. On May 5, 1917, the Pope sent out a pastoral letter to the world, in which he asked the faithful to petition Mary the Mother of mercy in “this awful hour”. Within eight days, on May 13, the Mother of Mercy appeared at Fatima with her own “peace plan” for the world. In the third of the Fatima apparitions, the Virgin said that the present war would come to an end (something that most people found unbelievable at the time), but a new and greater war would begin during the papacy of Pius XI.

After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1908, Portugal was ruled by anti Christian groups who killed nearly seventeen hundred priests, nuns and monks between 1911 and 1916. Public religious ceremonies were forbidden. It was into this unpromising environment that Our Lady of the Rosary made her world-changing entrance.

The Fatima apparitions were preceded by three appearances of the Guardian Angel of Portugal, in which he prepared the three tiny sheep-herder visionaries (Francisco, Jacinta and Lucia) for the coming of the Mother of God. The apparitions of the angel were followed by six apparitions of the Virgin to the three children from May 13 to October 13, 1917, and numerous subsequent appearances and messages to Lucia.  The apparitions were public events so that even the onlookers were aware of something extraordinary taking place, most especially on October 13, 1917.

The first secret of the Fatima was a vision of Hell, and the second secret was the revelation of the importance of devotion to the Immaculate Heart. The children were also given a third secret, which has never been revealed, although its contents have been a frequent subject of speculation. .

The fourth apparition scheduled for August 13 did not take place as planned as the children were kidnapped by the district authorities for three days and so it took place on August 19^th on a different location.

By October 13, the whole country had heard of Fatima. Seventy thousand people had arrived at the Cova. The night before, a terrible storm swept through Europe, and it was still raining by noon of the 13^th. When the Lady appeared to the visionaries, she said she was the Lady of the Rosary, that she wanted a chapel built at the Cova, and that people must amend their lives and not offend the Lord since He was already greatly offended. Then she stretched out her hands again and rays of light went toward the sun. Thus began the famous miracle of the sun. The sun now seemed to be a silver disk and multitudes could look straight into it without shading their eyes. Suddenly it started shooting off different colored rays in all directions and then spinning on its axis. And then just as suddenly it seemed to be hurtling toward the earth. The terrified onlookers dropped to their knees, convinced that the end had come and many sought forgiveness for their sins. Just when it seemed that there would be cataclysmic collision, the sun returned to its normal position and everything was as before. The miracle of the sun was witnessed not just by those in the Cova but by people thirty miles away. With this magnificent display, the apparitions of Fatima came to an end.

Franciso died in April 1919 and Jacinta in February 1920 as was predicted by Our Lady. Both were victims of the great global influenza epidemic. Jacinta heroically endured excruciating pain in the last months of her life, and her body was found to be incorrupt when it was exhumed in 1935 and 1950.

In 1925 both the Virgin and the Christ child appeared to Lucia. At this time, Jesus asked the whole world to institute the practice of reparation to the immaculate Heart on the first Saturdays of every month: those who for five consecutive first Saturdays received communion, went for reconciliation, recited five decades of the Rosary, and meditated for fifteen minutes on mysteries of the Rosary, all in reparation to the Immaculate Heart, would receive graces required for salvation. In 1929, the Virgin told Sister Lucia that this was the time for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart.

At the request of Sister Lucia, the bishops of Portugal consecrated their country to the Immaculate Heart in 1938- and with good reason it is believed that, as a result of this act, Portugal was not drawn into the Second World War. Lucia entered the Carmelite order in 1948 and she died on Feb.14, 2005 at the age of 97.

Pope John Paul the Second was shot on May 13^{th ,  1981} and he miraculously escaped death and he believed that the assailant could not kill him, because he chose the wrong date, the first day of apparitions in Portugal. And the bullet that hit him is added to the statue on the crown of Our Lady of Fatima. The smith who originally made the crown left just enough space for the bullet to be fixed on the crown with out having it to be re-modeled. He didn’t know how this happened. And this crown was made from the wedding rings and jewels sent by the women of Portugal in gratitude for saving their husbands and sons in World War II. Portugal remained neutral in World War II and did not get involved in war.

Our Lady intervened in history a lot of times. None of the world religions has any tradition or even concept of such phenomenon and it stands in a class of its own without analogy or replication in the history of religions. In his book, Miracles of Mary, Michael S.Durham writes that “the Virgin Mary appeared more than 21 thousand times in the past ten centuries. That includes her apparition at Falmouth. The Month of October is the rosary month, and we will be saying rosary 20 minutes before each Mass on Sundays. October 7^th is the feast of Our Lady of Rosary. It was earlier known as the feast of Our Lady of Victory. It was instituted in commemoration of the victory of Lepanto, a war won against the Turks who almost overrun the Western Europe. On the invitation of the pope Christians all over the world said the rosary unanimously and the Christian Europe was able to defeat the Muslims. Otherwise majority of the world would have been Muslim now. Mary’s intercession is always powerful before God.  And she constantly intercedes for her children. Let’s teach all our children the Memorare: Let’s say it together now:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,
that never was it known that any one who fled to thy protection,
implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. 
Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand,
sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of thy Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me.
Amen.

XXIV-C- Ex 32: 7-11, 13, 14; I Tm 1: 12-17; Lk 15: 1-32

Everyone has lost something at one time or another. There is even a website complete with mobile app, www.lostandfound.com, that acts as a global ‘lost and found’ box. Users can report items missing and users can report items found. It is a good example of how technology can help people connect in a useful way. This is a gateway site for all of the physical things that can be retrieved and returned to their rightful owners. According to their statistics, about twice as many objects have been reported lost as have been reported found in the U.S. So, the site’s users are losing things at twice the rate they are finding them.

Haven’t we all had the experience of losing things that we know deep down we will never recover? Depending on the situation, we can feel disappointed, heartbroken, hopeless, or simply discouraged by our own inability to keep up with things. Isn’t it a wonderful relief to know that we will never fall into the ‘Lost Forever’ category? Isn’t it reassuring to know that God will never give up on us?

Today’s readings remind us that God actively seeks out the lost, wants their repentance and rejoices when the lost are found. God is eager to be merciful toward us, not vengeful and punishing. Our God has always been a God of mercy and patience, a God who seeks out the lost, as shown in the experience of Israel in the desert (the first reading), and through the amazing mercy shown to Paul, the former persecutor of the Church (the second reading).

Paul acknowledges the fact that he had wandered from the truth and rejoices that God first found him, then commissioned him to preach the Good News of God’s unconditional love, calling every prodigal home. Like John Newton, the eighteenth century English composer of Amazing Grace, Paul declared his past openly. . . “I once was lost”. . . “I once was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a man filled with arrogance” (v. 13). Calling himself, “the worst of sinners,” and, “an extreme case,” (vv. 15, 16), Paul invites us to marvel at the mercy of God, and to find hope and help for dealing with our own need for conversion.

We too are no strangers to sin. Proverb (24:16) says a just man falls seven times a day and rises again. We do not want to sin but we do. We can overcome this only if we allow the word of God to penetrate us and show up the dark spots in our lives so that we can bring them to the Lord for his healing and forgiveness. 

Ralph Milton tells of the teacher who, for reasons of her own, asked the kids one day, "If all the bad children were painted red and all the good children were painted green, which color would you be?"

Think about it. What color would you be? Red or Green? It is a tough question isn't it when you pose only two options.

One very wise child answered the teacher: "Striped"

It seems to me that in the frame of the story - everyone but Jesus is striped. It is the same in the world today. We are a curious combination of the lost and the found. We are striped. We are, in some sense, not completely lost. We are folks in the middle, as most of us are most of the time. 

Rarely are we completely lost. And rarely are we completely found. There is always a part of us that needs to be dragged and cajoled into the light, and there is always a part of us that is already there in the light. For some it is more and for some it is less, but always some part.

Like the younger son, we need to come to our senses, and realize that we are dying of hunger for the food of heaven, Jesus himself. He is the one who, as St Paul tells us, gives us strength and calls us into his service regardless of our past and present sins.

Let this Sunday be a Sunday of self-reflection, assessment and correction.   If we have been in sin, God, in His mercy, is ready to receive and welcome us back, no less than Jesus welcomed sinners in his time.   Let us pray today that we will allow God’s love and forgiveness into our lives.   Let us also ask God for the courage to extend this forgiveness to others who have offended us. As forgiven prodigals, we must be forgiving people. As we continue with the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray also for God's divine mercy on those who have fallen away from grace.  May their ears be opened so that they may hear that Jesus is welcoming them back home. 

XXII.Sir. 3:17-20, 28-9; Heb. 12:18-9, 22-24; Lk. 14:1, 7-14

A pastor was having difficulty with his assigned parking space on the church parking lot. People parked in his spot whenever they pleased, even though there was a sign that clearly said, "This space reserved." He thought the sign needed to be clearer, so he had a different sign made, which read, "Reserved for Pastor Only." Still people ignored it and parked in his space. "May be the sign should be more forceful," he thought. So he devised a more intimidating one, which announced, "Thou shalt not park here." That sign didn't make any difference either. Finally, he hit upon the words that worked; in fact, nobody ever took his parking place again. The sign read, "The one who parks here has to preach the sermon next Sunday morning!" In Today’s gospel Jesus speaks against taking first positions and places of honor.

First reading from the Book of Sirach, places great emphasis on the virtue of humility and shows great sympathy to poor people and the oppressed. Jesus was humble, so his followers are expected to be humble, trying to imitate his humility. Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart says he.

All the great men praised the virtue of humility. “Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues,” taught Confucius. Benjamin Franklin was convinced that “Humility makes great men twice honorable.”  When Jesus taught His disciples the meaning of true greatness, He called a child and said, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Children tend to remember more easily that they are not God. They know that they are dependent on their parents for food, shelter, and everything else, so it's natural for them to accept being dependent on God as well. Everything a child has is a gift from others and he takes pride in the gifts. Great men were able to see the gifts of God, and they always remained grateful to him. This attitude made them humble.  God fills the humble with his blessings.

Jesus is King and one of the most important law in Christ's Kingdom is the law of humility. This law says that "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and everyone who humbles himself will be exalted". In other words, greatness in his Kingdom comes not from out-doing other people, out performing them, and out distancing them.

Greatness in Christ's eyes comes from serving other people, from elevating them, helping them advance, and keeping oneself in the background. In his very first sermon, Jesus had taught the same law with different words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."

Humility can be practiced by doing our daily duties with dedication and commitment. St Paul wrote to the Philippians, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourself. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others.”  

Humility makes us instruments in the hands of God. It makes possible a relationship with God. “There is no room for God in him who is full of himself, “says Martin Buber, the Jewish philosopher. God can work through us only when we offer a chance by keeping our pride aside.

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (without lunch), he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"'Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?”

"'Sorry,” the woman told him. “I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person because you are going to get other food items also from other servers.”

"'But I'm starved and I love chicken,” the governor said.

"'Sorry,” the woman said again. “Only one to a customer.”

Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around. "'Do you know who I am?” he said. “I am the governor of this state!”

"'Do you know who I am?” the woman retorted. “I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister.”

After the construction of the Titanic, a reporter asked the man who had built it how safe the ship would be. "Not even God can sink it," he answered.

Well, God didn't have to sink it; an iceberg was sufficient.

The Law of Humility simply means that we should remember that we are not God, that God is God, and we are dependent on him.

The instructions of Jesus remind us that we are not the center of the world.  God is.  Our value, our success comes from our relationship to our Center, our God.  That is humility.

We need to practice humility in personal and social life.  Humility is based on the psychological awareness that everything I have is a gift from God and, therefore, I have no reason to elevate myself above others.

Let’s pray that the Holy Spirit may come to our aid to free us from vanity, pride and false humility and to have the patience to wait under God’s mighty hand to be exalted at the proper time. Let’s seek the wisdom that will lead us to true and right judgment in all things and praise God at all times, humbly accepting everything gratefully and joyfully from his loving hands.

Assumption of BVM-[C]- Rev11:19;12:1-6,10;1Cori15:20-26;Lk1:39-56

The Marian Doctrine the assumption of Mary was defined by Pope Pius XII on November 1, 1950. Through this Doctrine, the Catholic Church proclaimed that, revealed by God, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into Heavenly glory.

In the Assumption, Mary is fully united with her son in glory.  She remains his mother.  He remains her son.  Cardinal Suenens once said, “Jesus does not point out Mary and say, “She used to be my mother.” Not only is she Jesus’ mother, she is our mother too, for on Calvary Jesus gave her to us to be our mother.  “Woman, behold your son,” he said to her and to St. John, who was a representative of all disciples, Jesus said “Behold your mother.”

Our separated brethren  downplay Mary’s glories as though she could possibly be a rival to God, who alone we worship and adore. In her Immaculate Conception Mary is the first of Christ’s miracles, and He crowns her with her glorious Assumption as a sign and foretaste of the joys promised to His bride, the Church, to be ‘without spot or wrinkle. Not to believe in the assumption of Mary therefore is not to believe in God’s power to do miracles.

In her Assumption, she is brought to the right side of her Son, the King, and she intercedes before Him constantly for us. We know and believe that Mary is concerned about our salvation.  We expect Mary to help us and we pray to her.  There is no relevance in having trouble with this idea of praying to Mary.  Jesus is our savior and we all believe that.  We all believe we should pray for one another.  If we can ask others to pray for us and we pray for them, why can’t those in heaven also pray for us?   If we seek the prayers of sinners on earth, for we are all sinners, why not seek the intercession of the saints in heaven?  Why not turn to the Queen of saints, God’s own Mother?

One day as God is walking around Heaven He notices a number of people on the heavenly streets who shouldn't be there.  He finds St. Peter at the gate and says to him, "Peter, you've been remiss in your duties.  You're letting in the wrong sort of people." "Don't blame me, Lord," replies Peter.  "I turn them away just like you said to.  Then they go around to the back door and Jesus’ mother lets them in."

1) As Mary’s Assumption was a reward for a holy life, this feast invites us to keep our bodies pure and holy.  Paul gives three additional reasons: a) our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, b) our body parts are the members of Christ’s body, and c) our bodies are to be glorified on the day of the Last Judgment.

2)   We are given an assurance of hope in our resurrection and a source of inspiration during moments of despair and temptations.

3)   We need to pray to Mary.  Pray to Jesus through Mary is the reason to pray the Rosary.

 How many times have we said in the rosary: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Countless times, no doubt. And with good reason. It's no wonder that John the Baptist, in his mother's womb, leapt for joy at hearing the greeting of our Lady. It's no wonder that Elizabeth expressed such joy and showed so much reverence to Mary.

We have the opportunity to carry the King of Kings within us daily in the Holy Eucharist. While this time is brief, we can rejoice holding this gift within us as Mary did. The angels bow before us while the Blessed Host is within us and I am sure they did the same with Mary. May the Spirit of Mary be in each of us so that we may rejoice as we celebrate the assumption of Mary.

XIX-Wisdom 18: 6–9; Hebrews 11: 1–2; 8–19; Luke 12: 32–48

Bishop Sheen tells us that we will have three surprises in heaven. The first surprise: We will be surprised to see that many people we expected to be in Heaven are not there. The second surprise: We will be surprised to see that the people we never expected to be in Heaven are there. It is because God judges man’s intentions and rewards them accordingly. The third surprise: We will be surprised to see that we are in Heaven. Since our getting to Heaven is principally God’s work, we should be surprised that God somehow “went out of His way” to save us simply because we showed the good will and generosity to cooperate with His grace. In today’s Gospel Jesus answers the question who will be saved, when and how. 

The central theme of today’s readings is the necessity for trusting faith in God’s promises and remaining faithful as we wait for the return of the Lord. Jesus uses two parables to make the point. First there is the Parable of the Watchful Servants where Jesus encourages his disciples to be vigilant and ready for action as they wait for the coming of the Master. That he will come is certain, but when he will come no one knows. The Lord comes unexpectedly into our lives everyday through events and people we meet. But the ultimate, unexpected coming of the Lord in our lives is the moment of death. We should be watchful to recognize the Lord and be prepared to meet him in the little unexpected opportunities of everyday life. This is the best way to prepare for the ultimate encounter with the Lord at the hour of death.

In the second parable, the Parable of the Faithful or Unfaithful Servant, Jesus reiterates the lesson of the first parable under the heading of faithfulness. He portrays two different attitudes of disciples in the absence of the Master. The wise disciple remains steadfast at his duty post even in the master's absence. The foolish disciple takes to a complacent lifestyle and takes the law into his own hands. The day of reckoning comes with the master's return. The faithful servant receives a promotion, the unfaithful one is "cut to pieces" and given a place with the unbelievers.

Like we can't cram for life's final exam, we cannot receive the Lord with just a little immediate preparation. If we want to live in communion with God forever, to experience the fulfillment he promises in this life and the next, we need to make friendship with God as the number one priority of our lives. The good things of this earthly life, its pleasures, challenges, and occupations, will come to an end when the Master returns. To live as if they were going to last forever, therefore, is foolish. Christ wants to make sure we don't act like fools.

The Gospel ends with the admonition of Jesus: "from those to whom much has been given, much will be expected." We must value the fact that the Lord has given us much… he has died for us and given us new life in Christ, he has given us all the grace we need through the sacraments and the Church to live a life in accordance with our new dignity. He has blessed each one of us abundantly with his grace and love. He will expect a return on all he has given us.

So, how do we remain steadfast and faithful ? One of the traditional means for remaining alert is prayer. The most important element in prayer is listening to God – an attitude of attention to the "tiny whispering sound" of the Lord (1 Kings 19:11-12).   Such attentiveness demands that we set aside a quiet time every day during which we can tune our ears to the divine sounds of love, harmony and peace. Let us recall the words of the Book of Revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me" (3:20). 

By prayer seeking to know the will of the Master and by taking care of the servants given in our charge, let’s keep ourselves ready for the return of the Master, who is already here going to serve us now with heavenly food.

XVIII,O.T: Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23; Col 3:1-5, 9-11; Lk 12:13-21 

The common theme of today’s readings is that the greedy acquisition of wealth and power is futile, because everything and everyone is “here today and gone tomorrow.” So the meaning of life cannot be found in selfishly hoarding wealth and possessions, but only in sharing these with the needy. 

Charles Dickens in his play “The Christmas Carol” gives the picture of a selfish man, Mr Scrooge, whose sole aim in life was acquiring as much wealth as possible at any cost. He considered Christmas celebrations as humbug, and hated charity. He weighed human relationship against material wealth.  He never bothered to care for his nephew or his employees.

One night, he saw an unusual figure in his bed room. It was a ghost in chains. The ghost introduced himself as the ghost of his deceased partner. He came to warn Mr. Scrooge about the futility of the life that he was leading. He told him that some spirits would come to him and he should listen to their message, to avoid the fate that Marley, his business partner faced by dying a dreadful death. 

First came the ghost of the past. He took Mr Scrooge to his past. He was presented as a young man who did not heed to the voice of his parents; who abandoned the love of a beautiful maiden to amass wealth. The second ghost, the ghost of the present, took him to the church where Christmas celebrations were being held; and to the house of   one of his employees. There he witnessed what others thought of him. Everyone hated him due to his over attachment to wealth. The third ghost took him to the future. He was taken to a house where a dead body lay unattended and unlamented by any one. He was curious to see the dead man. The ghost allowed him to see the corpse. Mr Scrooge was shocked it was his own death scene.

Mr Scrooge learned a great lesson that his frantic chase for wealth was meaningless. It would only lead him to eternal misery.  This is the message of today’s readings.

In the second reading, Paul directs our attention to lasting, heavenly treasures and warns that greed for wealth and influence is idolatry.  He advises, "Put to death, your parts that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry”(Colossians 3: 5).

 By telling the parable of the foolish rich man, Jesus warns us against all types of greed, because greed takes our life’s focus away from God and away from serving and loving Him in other people. Jesus says God calls the greedy rich man a fool because the man thought he would not die soon and was not accountable for the way he used his riches. He forgot that his wealth was loaned to him by God for sharing with the needy.

Dr. Carl Menninger, the world-renowned psychiatrist, was talking on one occasion to an unhappy but wealthy patient. He asked the patient what he was going to do with so much money. The patient replied, “Just worry about it, I suppose.” Menninger asked, “Well, do you get that much pleasure from worrying about it?” “No,” responded the patient, “but I get terrified when I think of giving some of it to somebody else.” Then Dr. Menninger went on to say something quite profound. He said, “Generous people are rarely mentally ill.”

People who cannot share with others have deep-seated problems. If your level of giving to the work of God and the service of others requires no sacrifice, then you have Jesus locked in a cupboard, and he is not really living in every part of your life. In today’s gospel Jesus calls such people “fools.”

The richer that man grew, the greedier he became, as suggested by the Roman proverb: “Money is like sea water; the more a man drinks the thirstier he becomes.” It is like children in a video arcade – no matter how many quarters or tokens you give them, when the last game’s over, they always ask for “just one more.” There’s no end to it.

The foolish rich man “never saw beyond this world.”   He was punished, not for anything wrong he did, but for the good he failed to do. It was his acts of omission rather than of commission that prompted God to cut short his life. He failed to become “rich in what matters to God.” He left God out of his gratitude. He was not thankful to God for His blessings; instead, he considered them as solely the fruit of his own labor.  He also failed in his stewardship duties – the returning to God of His portion in paying his tithe.  He did not recognize his possessions as loan from God, given to him to share with others.  He was taken up with worries or anxieties about his wealth.  He was starving to death spiritually in the midst of God’s abundance.  

What’s the answer or the balancing act against greed? The answer is that we need to get back to the basics and re-establish our priorities. In a word, we need to put God first. We need to follow the Great Commandment, to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mt.22:37-39) It’s as simple as that: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33)

If we pray the prayer from the book of Proverbs in all sincerity, God will come to our aid: " God, Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30: 8-9).