August 2: Preparing to Celebrate Sunday’s Mass / Preparándonos para Celebrar la Misa Dominical

Did you know that nearly one third of the parables told by Jesus deal with money in one way or another? Perhaps He knew that, if there is one thing we humans need and care about, it is money. It is the most frequent cause of human conflict, in one way or another, and at the root of most family (and parish!) difficulties.

On the surface of this weekend’s Gospel (Luke 12, 13-21), it might seem that Jesus is telling us that money ought to have no importance for us at all. Elsewhere, He tells us that God takes care of the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Why worry? But Jesus is not suggesting that we should live as though money had no importance. He just reminds us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be.

The foolish man in Luke 12, who thought he needed bigger barns, discovered too late that material wealth is not a permanent possession. He was really very “poor” and had nothing he could really call his own. When we are at the end of this life, all we ought to count on is what we have become, how we have grown, and how we have been made into a "new creation" – by the grace of God.

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En la Misa del domingo, Lucas 12, 13-21 nos va a recordar que nuestra riqueza se ha de encontrar en Dios. Las posesiones materiales no nos dan seguridad, ya que sólo Dios puede darnos felicidad estable y duradera. 

La parábola de un hombre rico nos va a enfrentar con la muerte. Muchos están preparados para presentar cuentas perfectas (saber, tener, y poder). Lo malo es que es necesario dar cuenta de la vida, no de aquello que uno ha amontonado. O sea, ¿Qué has hecho de tu vida? ¿En qué las has empleado? ¿Qué orientación le has dado? 

Jesús, en el fondo, acusa al rico en Lucas 12 de no haber sido previsor. No ha logrado pensar más allá de la “noche.” Agranda los graneros, pero no logra ampliar los horizontes, se deja aprisionar en el horizonte terrestre, que termina con acabarlo.

Cada uno debe poner su afán en lo verdaderamente importante. Por esto, hoy se necesita con mayor urgencia proclamar las palabras de Jesús: “la vida no está en los bienes.” La vida tiene valor en sí misma. No importa tanto lo que tenemos, como lo que somos. Al final de la vida, nos examinarán del amor … y los depósitos bancarios y las tarjetas de crédito no cuentan.