Friday of the Fifteenth Week In Ordinary Time
Jesus was going through a field of grain on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick
the heads of grain and eat them. When
the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “See, your disciples are doing what
is unlawful to do on the Sabbath.”
Strength through Weakness. What makes Christ so strong? His humility.
His poverty. His obedience. When I was a child, I didn’t like this Gospel
passage. It seemed to me that the Lord
was poor. I didn’t like poor
people. It seemed like he was at the
mercy of others. I didn’t like people
who begged.
Now, after having grown up (a
bit), I have grown to love this Gospel passage.
It is just another of a series of paradoxes regarding life in general
and the workings of God and men.
This morning I saw a video from
the Huffington Post. Watch it. It is humorous in the sheer ignorance of
their reporters when it comes to the Roman Catholic Church. But it is also beautiful regarding how a
simple and humble Pastor can make a difference in the lives of those who
honestly seek the truth.
I want a poor Church. “I
would like to see a Church that is poor and is for the poor” –Pope Francis. This is what most people can relate to,
and for good reason: this is the
condition of most of the people throughout the world. They are poor, not because contraception is
unavailable; not because abortion is unavailable; not because food is
unavailable; but rather because corruption is widespread; weapons are widely
used; and sin is everywhere.
Opponents of the Church have been
calling on the Vatican to sell all its art and give the money to the poor. Unfortunately, the first rule of poverty is
not to own something but to own nothing.
The Pope owns nothing. He does
not own the Vatican. No Pope ever will,
and so they cannot sell what does not belong to them. However, Mark Zukerberg does own a majority
of the shares of Facebook and is worth 14 billion dollars; Bill Gates is worth
72.7 billion dollars; Carlos Slim is worth 70 billion dollars; Warren Buffett
is worth 60 billion dollars; David Koch is worth 43 billion dollars; Larry
Ellison is worth 41 billion dollars; Alice Walton is worth 32 billion dollars;
Michael Bloomberg is worth 27 billion dollars; George Soros is worth 22 billion
dollars. Of course I could go on and on
and on…
The worth of these individuals
may very well be equivalent to the “worth” of some nations!
Now most of these individuals do give
something in return, but if they were to give it all. Oh my, “imagine
no possessions. Imagine all the people
living life in peace. Well, you may say
that I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one.
I hope someday [they] will join us and the world will be as one.”
I call upon all these individuals
to give it all away. Do it. Just do it!
But if you won’t, then maybe they
can start doing some simple things; like, no longer traveling in a fancy car or
private plane or living in very expensive and fancy “home.” Remember what the Pope said: If you
ever get tempted…then just think of all the poor and starving people.
Now it is true that our opponents
would like to see a poor Church; but in honesty, they would prefer to have a
dead Church, like a dead Savior.
Fortunately, they won’t get either.
Pope Francis is the answer to so
many prayers as well as so many votes.
He is the prince that prefers to live like a pauper! How’s that for something new!!! Now imagine all our Presidents, Kings, CEOs,
CFOs COOs, CAOs, etc. living like paupers?
Imagine… Well, it definitely won’t happen by
imagining there is no heaven or hell. We
might as well imagine no salaries or prisons.
I often meditate on this Gospel
passage. It is a wonderful reminder of
how the Creator of everything is a
simple and humble God; how He naturally interacts with His creation; and how He
does not frown upon man, but actually invites him to participate in His story
of salvation.
Imagine…
Father Alfonse - Today is Thursday, not Friday. Did you mean to post a day ahead? ;)
ReplyDeleteThe story of Jesus gathering in the wheat fields on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees acting as policing agents, reminds me of the terrible hunger and poverty in Africa. Not even one grain of wheat will flourish in decades-long drought conditions. Innocent children are starving to death due to corrupt governments (authoritative law of the land) food-rationing to the extreme....and often for the sake of their own pocketbooks. I work for a major corporation who donates millions to UNICEF with an initiative to end poverty and improve sanitation in the poorest countries. My company believes in social responsibility and conserving the environment. They may be a "rich" mega corporation; however, our organizational leaders believe in using a significant portion of profits to help the poorest of the poor. :)
Living simply, frugally, humbly, ethically, and morally sound may not be acceptable to many in secular society. But, just think of the richness such actions bring to life in general. I think of such simplicity creating a whole lot less "drama" than a life full of excessive materialism. (Just think of at the Kardashians.....)
Blessings,
-Jennifer
I think that's perfect. Responsible leaders.
ReplyDeleteI was just trying to point out the double standard of some critics with regards to the Church and the Holy Father.
I love hearing and reading things about our beautiful Pope and his ways of living. Every time I hear it, I feel closer to God
ReplyDeleteI also love reading Miss Jennifer thoughts as well~ Miss you :)
I'm those few people that live simply, frugally, humbly, ethically, and morally -well most of the time , ok about 90% of the time I do :)
God bless you Father Alfonse :)