Siblings fight over the littlest of things when we were young—who gets the chicken drumstick, who reads the comics first, who has more minutes on the bike, who gets more beans in the halo-halo. We never graduate from greed. The only thing that changes is what we fight about when we get older: properties and inheritance. Family reunions that used to happen in the living room now happen in the courtroom.

What brings back peace in the family? “Pattern interrupt.” You interrupt the pattern of greed and short-circuit the system of envy among siblings. Don’t insist on fairness and equality, or the bickering won’t stop. Someone makes the sacrifice. Someone agrees to take the smaller share while the rest get more. When you do this, everyone falls silent. You become the genuine leader of the family. You get the authority to speak and bring back love. Next, God finds a way to reward you. And this reward is better than what everyone is fighting about. Why fight over that little slice of pizza when God is giving you a pizza factory? Friend, peace in the family has a price. It’s sacrifice. Are you paying it? 

Jon Escoto (jonmaris@yahoo.com)

reflect

What sacrifice are you being called to make to bring healing in your family?

Jesus, give me the courage to lead and the love to make the sacrifice so that my family can heal. Amen.

Saint Isaac Jogues and companions, pray for us.

Before God redeemed us, we were helpless—dead in sin. No one can sustain a logical or coherent argument to the contrary. Let us be deeply grateful to God for the gift of salvation. On our own, there is nothing we can do to change our condition; only God can save us. In light of this divine gift, let us embrace the responsibilities of those who have been saved. 

¹ Brothers and sisters: You were dead in your transgressions and sins ² in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. ³ All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest. ⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, ⁵ even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 raised us up with him, and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; ⁹ it is not from works, so no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 100:1-2, 3, 4, 4-5

R: The Lord made us, we belong to him.

¹ Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; ² serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song. (R) ³ Know that the Lord is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. (R) ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise. (R) Give thanks to him; bless his name, ⁵ for he is good: the Lord, whose kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. (R)

Gospel | Luke 12:13-21

Many family disputes I’ve witnessed stem from the distribution of inheritances. What’s worse is that the larger the amount of money involved, the more bitter these conflicts become—even to the point where siblings take each other to court. Eventually, the inheritance gets drained by legal fees. Greed and sin lie at the heart of these family feuds. What happened to sharing provisions according to each one’s needs? We must remember: nothing we own can be taken with us to heaven. The more wealth we possess, the greater our responsibility to care for and share with the poor around us.

Gospel Acclamation

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.”

Read the Bible in one year! Read SIRACH 36 - 40 today.

A rich friend spends on anything necessary, whether for himself, his family, friends, and the needy. Once, I asked him if he had saved for his future. He said yes, but just enough. I asked him why, and he said that the future is uncertain; if he saved too much and he died, his wife might marry another man and the new husband might just spend what he saved.

I also met another rich man who nearly died of a heart attack. This brought him to his senses. Suddenly, he became generous. He invited his whole family to a shopping spree and a vacation, donated to the church and other institutions for the poor, even started a project for malnourished children. He realized he could go anytime and might not have the chance to spend what he saved. Further, he thought: “Will I be able to stand before God still holding my riches?”

In a parish I served before, many rich people were “living on interest” from their savings. Their money are in the banks, and they use only the interest for their living expenses. I told them that, with their wealth, they could live a better life—and even do apostolate works. I told them they owe it to God to be good stewards of the riches He had given them.

Much of the world’s riches today are left unused and stocked in banks. It is a disservice and against our duty as stewards to leave those riches unused. Hopefully, today’s Gospel on the Parable of the Rich Fool will wake us all up and make us remember that life is contingent. We learn from the past, yes, and we prepare for the future. But we must live in the present. Whatever you can do today, do it—for you may never pass this way again. 

Fr. Benny Tuazon

reflection questions

How have you lived your life up to today? Do you dwell more on the past or  worry much about the future?   

Today, I pray, Lord, that I fully live my present, learn from my past, and always anticipate the future with joy. Let me not waste each day by being anxious and spending too much  for my security. You are my security, Lord. With You, I have enough. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _________________________________