Friday, July 29, 2016

Is Growing Rich a Waste of Time?

Dear Parishioners,

We are progressing with our kitchen/hall renovation. The epoxy floor in the kitchen was poured last week. It looks beautiful. The new equipment is being assembled and moved into the kitchen this week. This coming week, we will start the process for removing the tiles and abating the asbestos in the lower tile. I expect this will take several weeks. Then we can paint the hall and install the new tiles. Hopefully, we will be finished in a month or little bit more. Meanwhile, let us be patient and pray that all goes well.

This week Jesus calls our attention to one of the Seven Deadly Sins—GREED. In our consumer driven culture, it is a temptation for so many of us. From designer clothes, to expensive cars, to the latest technological gadget, to high cost homes, to exorbitant salaries, we are encouraged to want more. The first reading (Ecclesiastes 1:2) talks about the vanity of acquiring much property. It is all in vain, because in death, everything is left behind. Jesus makes the same point (Luke 12:13-21). Growing rich for ourselves is a waste of time. We are to grow rich in the sight of God.

This we do by being good stewards of God’s gifts—using the gift of time in prayer and worship; the gift of talent in our jobs, parish, family and local community; the gift of treasure in giving generously to the poor and the Church.

In giving generously of our time, talent, and treasure, we do not become poor. Instead we grow rich in the sight of God. So when we die, we can look forward to Jesus saying, “Well done good and faithful steward. Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.”

- Fr. Carl

“There is one thing everyone can do, whether they find it
hard to meditate or not, and that is to make up their
minds in the morning to cultivate some particular virtue
during the day, to practice the interior Presence of God,
and to live their life in union with Him.”
~ Thoughts of the Cure D’Ars