The Irvings should have this one...
SPIRITUAL LIVING
Prayer and Devotions
Poverty of Spirit
by Father Jason Wallace, LC
Find a small but ingenious way to bring Christ’s message to another person today.
October 22, 2007
Monday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 12: 13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" 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." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' 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 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!" 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?' Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
Introductory Prayer: God our Father, you created me to glorify you. I pray I will be able to have you ever present in my life as I journey towards your Kingdom. Allow me to be a tireless apostle. Help me serve you by serving others.
Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to be detached from this world’s goods.
1. Possessed by Possessions One may be rich, but he must not be possessed by his possessions. In this materialistic world, our culture screams at us to own, possess and acquire everything we possibly can, both in the economic and social sphere. We get wrapped up in having things rather than in being Christ’s followers. We allow possessions to take control of how we think, desire and live. While we have to be in the world and love all that is good in it, we are to use its goods to the degree that they help us get closer to Christ and bring others to him. I must be detached from the world’s goods.
2. Tireless Apostle You fool! God reprimands this man for being egotistic. He has received many qualities from God, and he was ingenious in making a profit for himself. Yet he abused the gifts God gave him. God gives us gifts and qualities not for our self-benefit or conceit: They are gifts and qualities for others. We are to use them to attract others to experience the greatness and love of God. There is always the temptation to store up our successes, basking in the sun. However, God reminds us that he created us to love him and to bring others to love him through the special gifts and qualities each of us has. Let us be tireless apostles bringing others to experience this immense joy we have found in Christ.
3. Rich in the Eyes of God What matters to God is that we use the treasures he gives us to reap fruits of charity for the world. Blessed Pope John XXIII laid out his vision for the Second Vatican Council to all the bishops in October of 1962. He said, “The greatest concern of the ecumenical council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously.” This is what will make us rich in the eyes of God. We have to be innovative and dynamic using God’s gifts to spread his Kingdom. Do we fall into the trap of using them for our self gain?
Conversation with Christ: Christ Jesus, you were not afraid to be innovative and use all the gifts you had to spread your kingdom. You were a tireless apostle. Grant me the grace to put all my energies into serving you by serving others.
Resolution: I will find a small but ingenious way to bring Christ’s message to another person today.
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