Humbly submit your will to God (thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
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 the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.” Lk 12:13-21
Jesus teaches us a couple of important lessons today. First, don’t make material possessions the center of your life. Second, God (His grace-His life in us), love (especially sacrificial-agape), prayer (a relationship), family, friends, good deeds, and living in service of others are non-material riches that matter to God. Invest in them. Some people spend their whole life working to make a good life here or a good life for their children on earth.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with hard work and making a good living, supporting your family and leaving an inheritance for your children. It is all in vain if we did not leave behind the most important thing for our children and each other, love. We learn about love in the story of salvation given to us by God who loves His children dearly. We learn about a Savior who gave His life so we might live and His Spirit lives in us to guide us until He returns.
On our death beds which do you think we will regret more, not leaving behind enough money to our children who you raised to learn how to work hard and fend for themselves or not spending more time with your wife/husband, kids, serving others in need, praying and being with God developing a strong relationship with Him? This life is a preparation for the next. God gave us freedom so we could learn how to love. Deep down we want authentic relationships with God, spouse, friends, classmates, children, co-workers, etc. There is one authentic relationship that will teach us who we are and what we were made for, an authentic meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ.
We are created for an afterlife, a spiritual life. It makes since that Jesus and the Scriptures are teaching us to store are riches in spiritual things. What makes us rich in the spiritual life? Intentional prayer in silence (building a relationship with Jesus), faithfully receiving the sacraments so God’s grace can transform us, offering up our suffering which leads to joy, putting love into each deed throughout the day, and staying spiritually motivated by reading spiritual books about the saints, our hall of famers in the spiritual life.
Today’s challenge:. Spend time with your family instead of an electronic. Spend time with your family worshiping God and being nourished by Him in the Eucharist. Pray with someone today.
Be a servant, become a saint!
#Christian YOLO
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