In today’s Gospel of Luke we hear the parable of the wealthy man who builds more and bigger barns to store all of his possession—produce of the earth—for himself and yet unbeknownst to him, he will have no more need of these items past that night. Today’s gospel asks us to consider what is of import to us during this life—and for the life to come. We are asked to consider just how we spending our life—what are we collecting and doing with our time on earth—for what are we preparing?
This week, Luke’s Gospel speaks to us about prayer and the greatest gift of all, the Holy Spirit. It is in prayer and being prayerful that we will come to know God’s Will for us and we then will live the life God has hoped for us. In prayer, we must be persistent. In prayer, it is O.K. to ask—for we shall receive. And in a prayerful way of life, we must give and support, like a good parent does, assistance or guidance to someone even when that support may seem difficult for the receiver.
The first round of pastoral planning meetings among priests in the seventeen deaneries of the Archdiocese is complete. The outcomes from these meetings are draft recommendations for restructuring each deanery through a comprehensive design of our parishes and schools. Priests also took time to assess the strengths and weaknesses of their recommendations in preparation for sharing their results with select members of their respective congregations.
This weekend’s and last weekend’s gospels don’t seem to have a great deal in common at first blush. Last week we heard about the Good Samaritan and the mercy he bestowed on a stranger. Today we hear about serving a meal and preparing for guests or participate in conversation and a dispute erupts between sisters. Yet in both gospel accounts Christ’s message centers on the priorities of God
Today we hear one of the most well-known Gospel accounts, the Good Samaritan. Most of us see this parable as one of “doing good” in the world. The Good Samaritan (as one who wasn’t expected to offer help yet did) saw someone in need and tended to him and yet the Priest and the Levite, who were expected to care, did not help. But this gospel message is more about humility—choosing to do the righteous thing—and less about simply “doing a good or kind act.” This gospel message is as alive and applicable today as it was when Jesus spoke to His ancient audience.
This week we will celebrate the freedoms provided to us by the desires of the men and women who fought for our national independence from the Crown of England in 1776. One of these freedoms is Religious Freedom found in the religion clauses in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. But sadly, religious freedom has been challenged often in our national history and of late it has been literally under attack.