The Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Year C
Reading I: Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Responsorial Psalm: 90:3-6, 12-14, 17
Reading II: Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
In Louisa May Alcott's book: Little Women, Ch. 40, she says, “Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go....” Since in heaven we will see the Lord, we no longer need faith or hope. Love is what is eternal. When we die, our possessions, our titles, our accomplishments are left behind. The legacy we leave is only of worth if it is the fruit of our love on earth. What we take with us is the quality of our love.
In our world today, often a person’s worth is measured by his/her possessions, titles, and accomplishments. The Lord wants us to see with different eyes. An elderly Sister friend of mine used to worry about her niece Frances who was in a mental institution. Frances was a normal child until at the age of five. Then, she fell off a high porch and suffered brain damage. She developed severe epilepsy at a time when medications could not help. She was an only child, so when her parents passed on, she was placed in an institution with people who had serious mental problems. The aunt was the only relative who would visit her. When my Sister friend was close to death, she shared with me her concern that her niece would no longer have visitors once she went home to God. I offered to visit Frances when I could.
One time when Frances had fallen and broken her arm, I was expressing my sorrow that she had to deal with the pain and inconvenience. Her response surprised and edified me: “Jesus suffered for me, so I can offer my suffering to him.” She would always take the time to introduce me to the other patients. I could tell by their responses that she was well-liked because of her kindness to all. Frances died at about 65 years old after about 60 years in an institution. She had no possessions, no titles, no accomplishments by worldly measure. However, she had shared love. That was all her heavenly Father asked of her.
Another lesson I learned occurred when I was serving as a parish minister in a remote mission in Many Farms, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. There was an elderly man from the East who intended to leave his money to the Missions when he died. He had been a contractor and had accumulated a large amount of money. He was advised to give the money to the missions while he was still living and visit those missions he was helping.
When he arrived at Many Farms, I served him dinner. As we were eating, he shared his story. He had an adult son who had been bedridden and unable to talk all his life. All he could do was hug people. This gentleman taught religion classes in his parish. Each year, he would have his healthy sons help him to bring the invalid son to class. The lesson was to see what is most important in life. The father would simply say. “All my son can do is love.” What a powerful lesson that was! Again, this young man had no possessions, titles, or worldly accomplishments. However, he had done what was most important: he had expressed love.
It is so easy for us to get our priorities out of order. We are bombarded with advertisements which encourage us to accumulate items which are wants rather than needs. Our time can be squandered on things that are unnecessary. Let us ask the Lord to help us to keep our priorities in order. Perhaps, as we listen, we may find that we need to make some adjustments.
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St. Katharine Drexel challenges us to relish what is of lasting worth in her encouraging words: “Let your heart delight in the love your God has for you, personally, individually.”
Responsorial Psalm: 90:3-6, 12-14, 17
Reading II: Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
In Louisa May Alcott's book: Little Women, Ch. 40, she says, “Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go....” Since in heaven we will see the Lord, we no longer need faith or hope. Love is what is eternal. When we die, our possessions, our titles, our accomplishments are left behind. The legacy we leave is only of worth if it is the fruit of our love on earth. What we take with us is the quality of our love.
In our world today, often a person’s worth is measured by his/her possessions, titles, and accomplishments. The Lord wants us to see with different eyes. An elderly Sister friend of mine used to worry about her niece Frances who was in a mental institution. Frances was a normal child until at the age of five. Then, she fell off a high porch and suffered brain damage. She developed severe epilepsy at a time when medications could not help. She was an only child, so when her parents passed on, she was placed in an institution with people who had serious mental problems. The aunt was the only relative who would visit her. When my Sister friend was close to death, she shared with me her concern that her niece would no longer have visitors once she went home to God. I offered to visit Frances when I could.
One time when Frances had fallen and broken her arm, I was expressing my sorrow that she had to deal with the pain and inconvenience. Her response surprised and edified me: “Jesus suffered for me, so I can offer my suffering to him.” She would always take the time to introduce me to the other patients. I could tell by their responses that she was well-liked because of her kindness to all. Frances died at about 65 years old after about 60 years in an institution. She had no possessions, no titles, no accomplishments by worldly measure. However, she had shared love. That was all her heavenly Father asked of her.
Another lesson I learned occurred when I was serving as a parish minister in a remote mission in Many Farms, Arizona on the Navajo Reservation. There was an elderly man from the East who intended to leave his money to the Missions when he died. He had been a contractor and had accumulated a large amount of money. He was advised to give the money to the missions while he was still living and visit those missions he was helping.
When he arrived at Many Farms, I served him dinner. As we were eating, he shared his story. He had an adult son who had been bedridden and unable to talk all his life. All he could do was hug people. This gentleman taught religion classes in his parish. Each year, he would have his healthy sons help him to bring the invalid son to class. The lesson was to see what is most important in life. The father would simply say. “All my son can do is love.” What a powerful lesson that was! Again, this young man had no possessions, titles, or worldly accomplishments. However, he had done what was most important: he had expressed love.
It is so easy for us to get our priorities out of order. We are bombarded with advertisements which encourage us to accumulate items which are wants rather than needs. Our time can be squandered on things that are unnecessary. Let us ask the Lord to help us to keep our priorities in order. Perhaps, as we listen, we may find that we need to make some adjustments.
*************
St. Katharine Drexel challenges us to relish what is of lasting worth in her encouraging words: “Let your heart delight in the love your God has for you, personally, individually.”
Thank you Sister Annette Marie, This lesson is important to all, Love thy neighbor.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless You for your time and Love.
David
St. Anselm-Chicago
Sr. Annette,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to share these stories with us. They contain powerful teachings / reminders about what really matters in this life. It is so easy to get caught up in material / financial matters that worry becomes a big part of our experience and love and kindness toward others become less a part of our behavior. If we have abundant resources, oftentimes, our focus tends to be on accumulating more goods, like the rich man in today’s gospel story who obsessed about building larger barns to store his bounty. If money is tight we may become stressed about perceived lack of goods. We fail to recognize the abundance all around us in the form of our fellow human beings, nature and pets - all offering kindness, beauty, and love. Love is indeed the greatest gift available to us and it is freely available regardless of status if we but open ourselves to it. May you, and all your readers, be blessed with the awareness of the abundant love surrounding them throughout the coming week.
Dear David and Pat, ASBS, Thanks for your support of the blog.
ReplyDelete