Think of what is above, not what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. – Colossians 3:2-4

       After eating our Sunday dinner in a Chinese restaurant, my mom asked us if we wanted to get a massage. Of course we said yes.

       We went to a spa near our house. The receptionist said that there were three masseuses available. This was a problem because there were four of us, my parents, myself and my younger brother.

        We didn’t have the energy to look for another spa so I said, “It’s OK, go have the massage. I’ll go home.” My brother quickly said, “Yey! Thank you. I really I wanted a massage.” He thought that he would have to give up his massage since he was the youngest.

       Giving up my privilege and comfort made me happy because I was able to express my love for my brother. JPaul Hernandez (jpaulmh@yahoo.com)

Reflection: When was the last time you gave up something you wanted but didn’t really need?

Father, help us to be more sensitive to the needs of other people, especially the ones we love. Help us to love Your people more. Amen.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, pray for us.

Human beings are acquisitive by nature. We gather things to be comforted by them or to have them as a support when troubles come. This should be kept in the right perspective. We cannot bring anything with us when we die. We have to leave them all behind. Let us ask ourselves what we truly need, not what we want.

Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23

2 Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! 2:21 Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another, who has not labored over it, he must leave his property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune. 22 For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun? 23 All his days sorrow and grief is his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity.

Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17

R: If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

3 You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. (R) 5 You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, 6 which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. (R) 12 Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. 13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants! (R) 14 Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. 17 And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! (R)

St. Paul is convinced that Jesus must be the focus of our faith. One of the biggest challenges the Church faces today is how to call people into a deeper and more fulfilling discipleship by overcoming a cultural and sacramental understanding of the Christian faith. We need to choose to be in relationship with Jesus and serve His Kingdom.

Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11

1 Brothers and sisters: If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

Here is another parable that calls us to focus on eternal blessings. It is easy to be distracted by the pleasures of the world. Jesus tells the squabbling brothers to resolve their differences and to focus on things that really matter, such as whether or not their faith life is in order.

GOSPEL ACCLAMATION

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” 14 He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” 15 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.” 16 Then he told them a parable. “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. 17 He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ 18 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 19 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!”’ 20 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?’ 21 Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

think: Let us ask ourselves what we truly need, not what we want.

Thank You Lord for: __________________

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Esther 8-F

SABBATH PAUSE

THANK YOU LIST

SPECIAL NEEDS

HIDDEN TREASURE

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THE REAL GOAL OF A CHRISTIAN

“Brothers, if you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” These words from the Letter to the Colossians set the tone for today’s reflections. We are invited to find our fulfillment in God, rather than be bound by earthly things.

       We don’t know anything about this man who came asking Jesus to settle his dispute. Maybe he was sincerely interested in justice. Maybe he was just being greedy. In either case, Jesus uses this encounter to teach one of the most basic, though not the most popular, Christian lessons.

       The meaning of life does not depend on getting rich — so different from what preachers of the so-called “prosperity gospel” teaches. Pope Francis has stressed several times what Jesus tells us today: If one wants to follow Him, he should not try to be rich but reach out to the poor and the marginalized.

       The emphasis on the vanity and meaninglessness of things in our First Reading sounds harsh, but it really reminds us of the obvious truth: Our life on earth is passing. We should not treat the things of this earth, as wonderful and useful as they are, as if they were ends in themselves. They aren’t. They are means to an end, instruments to help us fulfill a much higher purpose, namely that of knowing and loving God.

       No doubt we need money to live dignified lives, and it is certainly no sin to enjoy it. But if striving after them makes us neglect a healthy relationship with God, we will come to a tragic end, just like the rich man in the parable. God knows how we are easily tempted by money and possessions because they seem to promise so much. And so He makes this lesson clear: “Take care to guard against all greed.” Instead, if we want a truly fulfilling life, we should strive to be “rich in what matters to God.”

       Blessed Mother Teresa once said, “God does not expect us to be successful but to be faithful.” Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

REFLECTION QUESTION: Are you more concerned with getting richer than with seeking “what is above”?

Lord, You lived a very poor life but enriched countless people with Your teaching. Please help me to see more meaning in giving than in getting. Amen.