28th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) - 13 October
13th October 2024

“Earthly riches are like the reed. Its roots are sunk in the swamp, and its exterior is fair to behold; but inside it is hollow. If a man leans on such a reed, it will snap off and pierce his soul, and his soul will be carried off to hell.” – St Anthony of Padua
A reflection on today's Gospel message by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"Covetousness is an inordinate love of the things of this world. It becomes inordinate if one is not guided by a reasonable end, such as a suitable provision for one’s family, or the future, or if one is too solicitous in amassing wealth, or too parsimonious in dispensing it.
"The sin of covetousness includes, therefore, both the intention one has in acquiring the goods of this world and the manner of acquiring them. It is not the love of an excessive sum that makes it wrong, but an inordinate love of any sum.
"Simply because a man has a great fortune, it does not follow that he is a covetous man. A child with a few pennies might possibly be more covetous. Material things are lawful and necessary to enable us to live according to our station in life, to mitigate suffering, to advance the kingdom of God, and to save our souls.
"It is the pursuit of wealth as an end instead of a means to the above ends, that makes a man covetous. In this class of the covetous are to be placed the young woman who marries a divorced man for his money; the public official who accepts a bribe; the lawyer, the educator or clergyman who puts profits above human rights and needs, and the politician who puts party power above the labourer’s rights.
"Covetousness is much more general in the world today than we suspect. It once was monopolised by the avaricious rich: now it is shared by the envious poor. Because a man has no money in his pockets is no proof that he is not covetous; he may be involuntarily poor with a passion for wealth far in excess of those who possess.
"History bears witness to the fact that almost every radical economic revolutionist in history has been interested in only one thing: booty. The only poor people who ever attacked the rich and sought nothing for themselves were Our Lord and His followers, such as St Francis of Assisi.
"Such covetousness is ruinous for man, principally because it hardens the heart. Man becomes like that which he loves, and if he loves gold, he becomes like it – cold, hard, and yellow. The more he acquires, the more he suffers at surrendering even the least of it.
"The more the sinfully rich man gets, the more he believes he is needy. He is always poor in his own eyes. The sense of the spiritual thus becomes so deadened that its most precious treasures are bartered away for the trivial increases, as Judas sold his Master for thirty pieces of silver.
"As St Paul tells us: ‘The love of money is the root of all evil; in their desire for it some have strayed from the faith…’ The Providence of God becomes less and less a reality, and if it still retains value, it is reduced to a secondary role; God is trusted as long as we have a good bank account.
"To turn man’s heart away from perishable things to the eternal values of the soul, was one of the reasons for Our Lord’s visit to the earth. His teaching from the beginning was not only a warning against covetousness, but a plea for a greater trust in Providence.
"The man who unduly loves riches is a fallen man, because of a bad exchange; he might have had heaven through his generosity, and he has only the earth. He could have kept his soul, but he sold it for material things. Camels will pass through eyes of needles more easily than the covetous will pass through the gates of heaven. It was easy, of course, to condemn the rich; our world is too full of those who are doing it now. But our economic revolutionists do it because they envy wealth, not because they love poverty.
"It was not so with Our Divine Saviour. He earned His living with the two most primitive instruments used: wood and hammer. During his three years of preaching, not even a roof could He claim as His own. Then, at His death, He had no wealth to leave. He had given up everything in reparation for covetousness, keeping only one thing for Himself that was not a thing – His spirit.
"When a man loves wealth inordinately, he and it grow together like a tree pushing itself in growth through the crevices of a rock. Death to such a man is a painful wrench, because of his close identification with the material. He has everything to live for, nothing to die for. He becomes at death the most destitute and despoiled beggar in the universe, for he has nothing he can take with him. He discovers too late that he did not belong to himself, but to things. Now discovers too late that by consecrating himself to filling his barns, he was never free to save the only thing he could carry with him to eternity: his soul.
"Where our treasure is, there is our heart also. If we have lived for God, then death is a liberation. Earth and its possessions are the cage which confines us, and death is the opening of its door, enabling our soul to wing its way to its Beloved for which alone it had lived, and for which it only waited to die."
(The Cries of Jesus from the Cross)
Prayer Seeking God’s Guidance (St Benedict)
Gracious and holy Father, please give me intellect to understand You, reason to discern You, diligence to seek You, wisdom to find You, a spirit to know You, a heart to meditate upon You, ears to hear You, eyes to see You, a tongue to proclaim You, a way of life pleasing to You, patience to wait for You, and perseverance to look for You. Grant me a perfect end, Your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. Amen. 💐🙏💖