Ss John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues and companions SJ

Today is Monday the 19 October, the feast of Saints John de Brébeuf, Isaac Jogues and companions of the Society of Jesus, in the 29th week of Ordinary Time.  

Oculi mei ad Dominum Deum:  My eyes are on the Lord God.  Can you begin this time of prayer now by turning your eyes, once again, on the Lord?  

Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke.  

Luke 12:13-21

Someone in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?’ And he said to them, ‘Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.’ Then he told them a parable: ‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself, “What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?” Then he said, “I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich towards God.’    

The story begins with Jesus refusing to be turned into an arbitrator in a family’s dispute over a will.  Why is he reluctant to go down that road, do you think?  

In the parable that Jesus tells, what is wrong with the rich man’s plan for coping with his abundant harvest?   What do you understand by the idea of being “rich towards God”? What stirs in you as you reflect on this phrase?  

Now listen to the passage again, and notice what the rich man says to his “soul”: “relax, eat, drink, be merry”. Has he misunderstood something important..?  

Finally in your own words, try to sum up how you are feeling, in a prayer to God.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.  Amen.