During typhoon Ondoy, I braved the strong current of flood in Novaliches on foot to get home, only to find the expressway submerged in more water. With no chance of reaching home, I went to a fast-food restaurant to eat and wait for the waters to subside. Seated next to me was a lady boasting to her friend about her luxury bags and wallet. She lamented that she had five more in her car, which was already engulfed by the ocean-like flood. I looked at her bag and realized that no matter how expensive it was, it was good for nothing in our situation.

In the end, our material possessions only have meaning when we learn to let go and use them to make a difference in other people’s lives. What we own are entrusted to us to help us in our needs and also be a channel of blessings for others. Randel Serrano (forzazrof@gmail.com)

Reflect:

This season of Lent, let’s remember that our satisfaction comes from the Lord and not from our material possessions.

“Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before You with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my hands and to discover that I am not what I own, but what You want to give me. And what You want to give me is love—unconditional, everlasting love. Amen.” (Henri Nouwen)

St. Aubin, pray for us.

⁵ Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord. ⁶ He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth. ⁷ Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. ⁸ He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit. ⁹ More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it? ¹⁰ I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6

R: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

¹ Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, ² but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night. (R) ³ He is like a tree planted near running water that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does, prospers. (R) ⁴ Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away. ⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes. (R)

Gospel | Luke 16:19-31

Jesus’ parable today reminds us about the urgency concerning how we treat the less fortunate around us. Let us always remember that we are beneficiaries of God’s mercy and we can never repay Him. Let us strive to do all we can to help those in need and alleviate their suffering, especially when we can do so and when the cost is negligible to us.

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

¹⁹ Jesus said to the Pharisees: “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. ²⁰ And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. ²² When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ ²⁵ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. ²⁶ Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’ ²⁷ He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ ³⁰ He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ ³¹ Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Read the Bible in one year! Read LEVITICUS 25 - 27 today.

Several years ago, I was walking with a friend in a mall when a lady approached me and asked, “Sir, do you already have a credit card?” I walked past her without a word or even a look, unwilling to be dragged into an awkward and pointless conversation. However, I soon realized I was walking alone. My friend stayed behind. I looked back and saw him courteously ending their brief talk, the girl just glad to be finally noticed. He, however, scowled at me as he came. And when he finally reached me, he was indignant. “How can you just walk past another person like that? Magpapari ka pa naman!”

How was my then being a seminarian relevant? Because indifference is uncharacteristic to being a Christian, and in grave circumstances, it can condemn us to hell. Just ask the rich man in today’s Gospel. He didn’t maltreat or directly cause Lazarus’s suffering. Neither was he a bad man, even showing genuine love and selflessness toward his family. Yet he found no home in heaven. For while he was perfectly aware of Lazarus’s suffering, he saw no need to act on it. While he was in a position to help, he was too focused on his own affairs.

Similarly, while the world tells us it’s OK to ignore each other so we may not be sidetracked from our own goals, Jesus asks that we always be kind and look after each other. The rich man probably thought he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but neither was he doing the good he ought to do.

Our First Reading gives an antidote to indifference. “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord. . . . They are like trees planted beside water.” A firm trust in God’s providence helps us to be less focused on ourselves and to actually see our neighbor. May our seeing then lead us to do right by others—not just walk past them. Fr. Albert Garong, SSP

Reflection Question:

Are you indifferent? What can you do today to help another person in need?

Lord, help me to trust You more so I can care more for others. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________