Jesus Christ was rich,
but he became poor for your sake,
to make you rich out of his poverty. 2 COR 8:9
AMOS 6:1,4-7
My Soul's Beloved,
We live in an age where the senses have been given pride of place in our lives. Do what you want, whispers the devil in our ears, as long as you are not hurting anyone, it's perfectly OK, and because we desire to live unholy lives lacking self-control and discipline, we become idolaters who worship the world and the flesh, as acolytes of the evil one.
The world is hell-bent on grasping, possessing, consuming, indulging, and amassing with no thought to anyone else. We value things and discard people who are sick, weak, vulnerable, helpless, poor, and unable to care for themselves in our own families. We are prepared to sacrifice honor, loyalty, and duty so we can chase giddily the glitz and glamor that the world dangles before us. We pay lip service to You while our hearts are far away from You. But the day of reckoning is almost upon us, Lord, the very people we seek to appease and have given our allegiance to, trusting that they are looking out for our best interests, will be the very ones who will crush and destroy us.
Grant us wisdom, O Lord, to turn to You with contrite, repentant hearts and a humble spirit, and perhaps You will forgive us and hold back Your righteous wrath which can destroy us forever.
The almighty Lord says this:
Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client.
Lying on ivory beds
and sprawling on their divans,
they dine on lambs from the flock,
and stall-fattened veal;
they bawl to the sound of the harp,
they invent new instruments of music like David,
they drink wine by the bowlful,
and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,
but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.
That is why they will be the first to be exiled;
the sprawlers’ revelry is over.
PSALM 145(146):6-10
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.
Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’
The almighty Lord says this:
Woe to those ensconced so snugly in Zion
and to those who feel so safe on the mountain of Samaria,
those famous men of this first of nations
to whom the House of Israel goes as client.
Lying on ivory beds
and sprawling on their divans,
they dine on lambs from the flock,
and stall-fattened veal;
they bawl to the sound of the harp,
they invent new instruments of music like David,
they drink wine by the bowlful,
and use the finest oil for anointing themselves,
but about the ruin of Joseph they do not care at all.
That is why they will be the first to be exiled;
the sprawlers’ revelry is over.
PSALM 145(146):6-10
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free,
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from age to age.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16
My Soul's Beloved,
1 TIMOTHY 6:11-16
My Soul's Beloved,
In the first reading, we saw how the wicked live, but in this second reading, St. Paul shows us how we, as Your followers and disciples, are commanded to live. Our whole life is one of spiritual combat against the lies of the Deceiver and father of lies, who was corrupt from the beginning. Faith is Your gift to us, Lord, freely given, and with faith we can fight every spiritual battle victoriously, for we have at our command the Son of God, the Mother of God, and all the saints and angels in heaven to fight the good fight alongside us.
The world preaches violence, force, and brutality to seize the things of the earth, but we who are led by the Spirit are called to be holy and perfect just as our Father in heaven is holy and perfect. Lord Jesus, You founded Your Church, You instituted the Sacraments, You have given us Your Holy Spirit who abides in us, and this is why we are already victorious. With all the spiritual help available to us, let us put on Your armor, O Lord, and stand unafraid as we proclaim the Truth for Truth alone can set us free. Help us to fight the good fight to the end, and when we stand before You, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the only righteous Judge appointed by the Father, we can hope that You will judge us kindly and mercifully.
As a man dedicated to God, you must aim to be saintly and religious, filled with faith and love, patient and gentle. Fight the good fight of the faith and win for yourself the eternal life to which you were called when you made your profession and spoke up for the truth in front of many witnesses. Now, before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who at the due time will be revealed
by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal,
whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:
to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
LUKE 16:19-31
My Soul's Beloved,
who at the due time will be revealed
by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords,
who alone is immortal,
whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see:
to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.
LUKE 16:19-31
My Soul's Beloved,
In every one of the Parables that You narrated at various times in Your public ministry, it is crystal clear that Wisdom had made its home in You. With simple but meaningful, rich, and thought-provoking images, You paint a vibrant picture of eternal, divine truths. Dives, the rich man, is a perfect example of the worldly, indecently wealthy person who is spiritually dead and morally bankrupt. These people walk with blinkers and tune out all the horror and misery rampant in the world, especially against the poor, the weak, the marginalized, those that not just society but even governments turn a blind eye to. The little that they have is seized because they are voiceless and powerless.
If the little land they live on has something on it that the powerful desire for their gain, these poor people are threatened, abused, and hounded out of their poor huts and deprived of the meagre livelihood that holds their body and soul together. They are like Lazarus, covered in sores and misery, and only stray dogs have sympathy for their plight. The poor are given to us so we can share what is entrusted to us by You, O Lord, and when we fail to do so, our final judgment will be strict and the punishment meted out to us will be absolutely just.
Open our eyes, Lord, while there is yet time, for us to repent, beg forgiveness, and make reparation for our sins lest we perish eternally.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Yours. Amen.
Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.
‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”
‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’
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