WHEELS OF FORTUNE

“Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” – Luke 12:15

       At the height of my business, I was given an opportunity to earn more. The banks had processed a huge loan so that I would have a larger stake in the business. This business had grown and given us windfalls for many years. It was easy for me to think that money would continue to flow. The business was anchored on the premise that oil prices would continue to remain at high levels because our competitors were oil-based products.

     Today, oil prices have plunged more than 70 percent and our competitor products are back dominating the market, principally due to their lower costs. Had I taken the loan then and pursued more profits, I will be deep in financial debt today. And as fuel prices continue to go down, I cannot help but sigh a prayer of gratitude that I decided to entrust my financial future to God.

        Money and wealth give false hopes and false insurance. My financial insurance and fortune is God Himself and His promises. Faith is a deep belief that to the faithful, He is always faithful. Rolly España (rollyespana53@gmail.com)

Reflection: Money and wealth leave us with a false sense of self-sufficiency and may cause spiritual arrogance.

Father in heaven, I acknowledge You as the source of all wealth. I pray that I will be a faithful steward of Your blessings and gifts.

St. John of Capistrano, priest, pray for us.

Paul repeats his argument that Abraham is justified by faith, not works. If he cannot convince us that this is true, then his whole understanding of the dynamic of faith and salvation falls apart. Chapter 4 of his letter to the Romans is the chapter upon which his life’s work lives or dies. It has lived for nearly 2,000 years, so we can take it that Paul’s understanding of the nature of faith is correct.

20 Brothers and sisters: Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God 21 and was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do. 22 That is why it was credited to him as righteousness. 23 But it was not for him alone that it was written that it was credited to him; 24 it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.

R: Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

68 He has come to his people and set them free. 69 He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David. (R) 70 Through his holy prophets he promised of old 71 that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. 72 He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. (R) 73 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, 75 holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. (R)

The accumulation of wealth for the sake of having more is sickening. It is good if you are going to use your wealth for the good of others. Otherwise, wealth is a noose around your neck. It cannot make you truly happy. Only relationships can plumb the depths of our hearts and induce lasting happiness and fulfillment. Live a comfortable and enjoyable life but remember that a profligate and sumptuous life is going to be a source of temptations.

Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

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 himself but is not rich in what matters to God.”

think: What is your motivation in going after the riches of this world?

Read the Bible in one year Isaiah 1-4

T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST

thank You, Lord, for: ______________________________________________________

TO THE MAN CAVE

A rich man went to a desert monk to seek counsel regarding his unexplained loneliness. “Look, I have money and have all these silver but I feel unhappy,” said the man. The monk took a mirror, placed it before the man and asked, “What do you see?” The man replied, “I can see only myself.”

       The monk then took the mirror and scraped out the silver coating behind. Once more, he placed it before the man and asked, “Now what do you see?” Surprised, the man said, “Why, I see everything now — the plants, the river, the mountain, those people fishing in the river.”

       The monk then continued, “This is what silver (riches) can do. It can block our vision and make us see only ourselves. Maybe you should try scraping off your silver, and then you will see beyond yourself.”

       When we cannot see beyond ourselves, we are isolated, alone and, therefore, lonely deep within. In the Gospel parable, Jesus spoke of the danger of riches by speaking of a man who isolated himself from the rest by building a wall to protect himself and his riches. In the end of the parable, he was called a “fool” since he was about to die that same night and all his riches cannot go with him. Recently, a woman I was counseling told me that her husband would often retreat to his “man cave” for what he calls “me time.” All his gadgets and vices are there. The room is exclusive to him and his male friends. Once inside, no one can and should disturb him or them. Obviously, it has caused a strain in their relationship.

       The Greek word used for the word “fool” in the Bible is idiotes — one who is alone. That is the origin of the word “idiot.” St. Augustine describes a sinner as curvatus in se, Latin for “caved in on himself.” An idiot is one who is alone because he is closed in on himself, unable to see others because he is blinded by fear, insecurity, greed and addiction.

       We can really be fools sometimes. We ennoble the trivial and trivialize the noble. Fr. Joel Jason

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Have you ever considered why cell phones are called “cell”? It can turn us into modern-day cavemen.

I thank You, Lord, for all Your providence. Allow them not to stand in the way but rather be the way to You and others. Amen.