FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
My Dear Parishioners
Once a friend spoke to me about his money troubles. He told me, “Money has always been a struggle in my spiritual life. I’m not rich-my bank account proves it! -but I can be stingy. I tithe 10% to my parish, but I have it deducted automatically so I don’t have to feel the pain of writing the check. Yet, every day, I encounter opportunities to help the poor. It’s not that I lack the funds; it’s that giving hurts. My problem isn’t money, it’s my hardness of heart, where the poor don’t come first.”
Today’s Gospel (Luke 16:19-31) illustrates this through the story of a rich man and Lazarus, a poor man at his gate. The rich man, dressed in fine clothes and feasting daily, ignores Lazarus, who suffers in poverty. After death, Lazarus is comforted in Abraham’s bosom, while the rich man faces torment. The issue isn’t just wealth, it’s the rich man’s hardness of heart, rooted in his love of money, which blinds him to the poor.
Money can quickly lead to spiritual trouble. St. Paul warns in 1 Timothy 6:8-10, “If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation… For the love of money is the root of all evils.” Paul’s point is clear: chasing wealth leads to harmful desires and spiritual ruin. The rich man didn’t need to solve world hunger; he simply failed to help the man at his doorstep. His self-absorption, his hardness of heart-caused him to overlook Lazarus entirely.
What does a hardened heart look like? It’s complacent and covetous, consumed with thoughts of what to buy or scrolling through social media obsessing over clothes, cars, or status symbols. It’s a heart chasing frivolous pleasure, worrying about the next restaurant or party while ignoring others’ suffering. A hardened heart has a blunted conscience, indifferent to the homeless on the street or the person with tattered shoes passed on the way to buy an expensive pair. As Pope Francis wrote, such a heart is “caught up in its own interests… with no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades” (Evangelii Gaudium, 2).
The rich man’s story reveals the progression of sin: love of money leads to vanity, which leads to pride. First, money, meant to be a tool, becomes an idol. We prioritize it over everything, working Sundays or taking jobs just to buy more things. This shifts to vanity, where life revolves around appearances. We buy fancy cars or name-brand clothes not for utility but to signal status. Even cultural traditions, like a quinceañera, can become about showing off wealth rather than gratitude to God. Finally, vanity breeds pride, where we act like gods, blind to others ‘needs. The rich man didn’t refuse to help Lazarus-he didn’t even see him.
This Gospel is meant to make us uncomfortable. We might think, “I’m not rich, so this doesn’t apply to me.” But Jesus told this story to unsettle us, to make us reflect on whether we, too, overlook the poor. Notably, the rich man’s name is omitted, but we know Lazarus ‘name. In society, we often know the names of the wealthy- like celebrities-but not the poor neighbor down the street. Jesus flips this: in God’s Kingdom, the poor matter most.
This story challenges us because we can’t plead ignorance. Jesus warns in Matthew 25:45, “What you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.” We’re called to see and help the poor around us-not out of guilt, but because it’s central to our faith. The rich man’s failure wasn’t just his wealth; it was his self-centeredness, his inability to let God’s love move him to act.
Rather than a feel-good message, Jesus gives us a wake-up call. We must examine our hearts, confront our attachment to money, and ask: Do we see the poor? Do we care? The Gospel demands we soften our hearts, prioritize the least among us, and live not for ourselves but for God and others.
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