Brothers and sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
R./ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R./ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R./ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R./ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, "Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance." He replied, "My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?" Then Jesus said to the people, "Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life."
And Jesus continued with this story, "There was a rich man and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought: 'What shall I do? For I am short of room to store my harvest.' So this is what he planned: 'I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I may say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.' But God said to him: 'You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you; tell me who shall get all you have put aside?' This is the lot of the one who stores up riches instead of amassing for God."
Becoming Rich in God’s Eyes
In the sharp reply Jesus gives to the man who asks Him to intervene in an inheritance dispute with his brother, He clearly warns us about what not to ask God for in prayer. We can’t expect God to solve the problems that are ours to deal with. God respects our freedom and wants us to use it. We can’t and shouldn’t ask God to do what He asks us to do, turning Him into a kind of magic fix for situations He’s already given us the tools to handle. God, who gave us freedom, wants us to exercise it. That’s why the best way to truly help someone in need is to encourage their own independence.
This means using the goods of the earth responsibly. But since independence doesn’t mean self-sufficiency, we need the wisdom to give these goods their proper value—to not make them absolute, like the foolish rich man did. He thought he had secured himself once and for all, becoming rich in things he couldn’t take to the grave, while forgetting to become rich before God.
That doesn’t mean we have to pit earthly and heavenly goods against each other, as if we had to reject one to gain the other. Both come from God. Jesus Himself, who fed the hungry and healed the sick, taught us to ask in prayer for our daily bread.
The man in today’s parable had a stroke of luck and became immensely rich. But he could have also become rich in God’s eyes if, instead of hoarding all those riches for himself, he had opened his barns to share them with the hungry. That very night he would still have had to give up his life, unable to take his fortune with him, but he would have appeared before God adorned with the wealth of a duty fulfilled in justice, the freedom of generosity, the maturity of love—and also with the gratitude and blessing of the poor who were filled with those passing goods. And yet, when transformed by the values of heaven, such goods are by no means in vain.
Fraternal greetings,
José M.ª Vegas, CMF
Opening Prayer
Good and merciful God,
we often seek safety and security
in things to possess and to hold on to.
Do not allow things
to possess and control us.
When our riches mean poverty for others,
when our life means death for others,
teach us the joy of sharing
and give us the courage
to seek first the riches of your kingdom
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
Abraham was saved because he believed God and trusted him. Likewise, we will be saved because we believe, and the core of our faith is that Jesus was handed over to death because of our sins and was raised from the dead for our justification or salvation.
Gospel Introduction
When Jesus speaks out against the rich, he does not intend to condemn them but to liberate them. What he denounces is not the fact that they have material goods, but their own attachment to them and the use they make of their riches: for hoarding, for selfish enjoyment, or - as some rich countries do - stockpiling wheat in silos or using oil for economic and political pressure. The value of possessions is relative to the goods of the kingdom, to justice and love. What counts is to be rich and wise before God.
General Intercessions
- For a poor and open Church, in which the People of God try to have open hands and hearts for all, we pray:
- For those who are rich and powerful, that they may learn to share; for the poor, the humble and the exploited, that they may find help and keep hoping, we pray:
- For all of us, that we may learn to enjoy the good things of life, especially friendship and affection, unity and compassion, people who inspire us, and even love of enemies, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
in this eucharistic celebration
you set for us the table of Jesus
and you let us share in the riches
of your grace and gratuitous love.
Give us eyes of faith to see
that this is an open invitation
to let others share in our abundance
and at times even in our poverty.
Help us to become selfless and generous
together with him who gives himself,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you have enriched us with your Son.
Keep liberating us
from unreliable attachments
to things that are unimportant.
Give us rich hearts
that are neither possessed nor possessive
but that are free to love and to give
by the power of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Blessing
"One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions," is Jesus' word to us today. It is not to have an abundance of goods that will bring us happiness, but the goods of the kingdom of God, to be good and wise and just. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
