Scripture Reflections for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“if your life is not about you maybe it is about God and that's what initiated people begin to understand”

“we affirm the good things of the world, we don't run from them, make fun of them. But...When we base our lives on them then we collapse and that's why we need Qoheleth to say, 'ultimately, in the grand scheme of things all these earthly goods and pleasures are nothing compared to God'”

“the ultimate message of today’s gospel is to make space in your life to discern how do we invest in what really matters: love and connection”

“Today’s readings are reminders that life does not depend on how much property a person owns, but on whether the person uses God’s gifts wisely and carefully”

“This parable is told only in Luke. It’s logical message to the man is: you are distressed about something that is not all that important. Abundance belongs to God—and life belongs to God.”

“One of our most persistent illusions or idolatries in our technocratic society is a kind of magical thinking, an assumption that we can find a solution to all the problems we have generated without much altering our present way of living.”

“One needs first to despair of finding lasting happiness in temporal affairs before a life of self-denial in communion with Jesus Christ makes sense.”

“The man in the parable was called a rich fool because he omitted two important virtues that give meaning to wealth: Appreciation of God as the source of his wealth, and sharing his wealth with the poor.”

“Physical wealth and richness is a sign of positive development but it must be for the service of those who are still suffering and those who are excluded, those left furthest behind in the development”

“Today’s Gospel begins with a man asking Jesus to help him claim his due inheritance...But Jesus invites this man to ask: ‘In the light of eternity, should I let this go? Is peace in the family more precious than the money?’ How often does Jesus ask us this kind of question?”

“I am thinking of a group of Juárez citizens who are looking for ways of uniting neighborhoods by providing recreational space for children, creating cottage industries for the unemployed and especially promoting channels of communication among one another. What a worthy way to share one’s time, efforts, skills and financial resources!”

“It’s about using the things in your life, those little blessings, for creating moments where you can become closer to God”

“God is the creator and giver of all good things. Life is not something we possess; it is a gift we receive. And we want share these gifts with others.”

“That is the main thing we were put here on earth to do. To learn to quit being selfish, because that is actually the definition of sin. We were put here on earth to learn to love God, to love Jesus and to love our family, friends and the people we live and work with in our everyday lives.”

“we bless others with the blessings God has given us, and so our very lives become a blessing, a sacrifice of praise and thanks to God. So, the goods of this world are to be selflessly used well for the good of all, but selfishness and greed leads to their abuse such that creation itself is exploited.”

“According to the gospel, to be human is to be a receiver and giver of gifts; they come from beyond us, and are for sharing around and saying goodbye to when it’s the right time.”

“And so he gives us through his death and resurrection the fullness of all that is human. That is why we put to death in us whatever is not of Christ: sexual impurity, greed (a form of idolatry), anger, malice, lying. These are simply not consistent with being ‘raised with Christ’.”

“Do I despair? No, I just kind of learn to live in the present moment, savoring what I can but also letting go. Why, why? Because I realize that the true good, the truly beautiful belongs to a higher world.”

“The only thing you'll have in the heavenly realm is the love you cultivated here below”

“once we see everything in light of God we can learn to love the things of this world without clinging to them. Without expecting too much of them. Think how much disappointment and heartache can be avoided if we only learn this truth.”

“Yes to the world. God found it good, indeed, very good. No to the world in the measure that nothing in this world is God. Live in that space and you'll find the right spiritual balance.”

“Who you are is always more important than what you have. Why? For who you are will last forever, what you have will fade away.”

“the moment though I say, 'this won't satisfy me and I know it. This is not what my life is all about, in fact, this is all ultimately vanity.' Whether it's sex or money or power or material things. It's then that I begin to enjoy those things. And see them as God sees them, as yes, very good but just not my ultimate good.”