Dear Brothers and Sisters,
This gospel is very appropriate for our world today. Small men and women seek to have; great people seek to be. Most people around us believe that they can secure their lives by “having.” We see this mentality in the size of the homes that people build today, even if there are only two or three people living there.
St. Augustine said the bellies of the poor are safer storerooms than barns. You could also say, the souls of the poor ones, those whose life has no meaning, those who are suffering because they are far from God, are also a good place to build up your treasure, to be rich in the things of God. Serve them, speak to them, lend them your help! You will gain a hundred-fold, even in this life.
The man in the parable was only thinking of himself. What shall I do with my perishable crop??? I do not have this or that…I will store…I will build. He doesn’t think of anyone, or of God’s will. As if he got all these fruits from his own work. His rest, his comfort, his life…that’s all he thinks about. But he forgot one thing: he forgot that he was going to die. It is easy for us to fall into the same trap. Do the generous thing for the other NOW when you can see it. Who knows what will happen later?
Also, each week we have an opportunity to make a gift of ourselves in the collection. Jesus gives his life again for us in each Mass; he dies and rises again for you and me! What do we give him? Is it only a token, or are we building a treasure in heaven or wanting to be noticed here on earth?
The things of world stay in the world. What do we bring to heaven? Our virtues, our faith, our charity, our generosity, ourselves; only virtue is the companion of the dead. The gospel is a ‘good news’ for us today when it helps us to seek the things that are above, which are the only ones that cannot be taken from us. All of us will die one day. We ought to give that more thought.