TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
29 SEPTEMBER 2019
In
the worldly kingdoms in which we dwell, the rich and the powerful are
remembered by name. This is not true in
the kingdom of God, as we see in today’s parable. The rich man who lived a very comfortable
life is not given a name. However, the
poor beggar sitting at his gate is named:
Lazarus (which means “God has helped”).
The only fact we know about the rich man is that he ignored the plight
of Lazarus, sitting at his gate. The
only fact we know about Lazarus is his miserable situation is reversed after
death when he is taken to the bosom of Abraham.
This
parable is uncomfortable for us, because we are the rich man. We eat well, wear comfortable clothing, and
live in nice houses. There is no
mistaking the intent of this parable. We
cannot ignore the plight of the poor, as the children of Abraham had done at the
time of the Prophet Amos. That is why we
set aside 5% of our income for Saint Adalbert and another 3 ½% for the needs of
the poor who come to us. That is why we
support Father Larry’s parish in Uganda and why we support the work of our
Saint Vincent de Paul Society.
Please
direct your attention to this Bishop’s Appeal Video. In it, Bishop Rhoades outlines three
interconnected activities that we undertake as Church: our worship of God, our task of evangelizing,
and our care for the poor.
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