Reflections of Caritas

GOSPEL: LUKE 12:32-48

"FOR WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE WILL YOUR HEART BE ALSO!"

Dear Friends,

Jesus says in today’s gospel, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” We can ask ourselves:  “where is my heart, what is my treasure.”  Answering that will give us immense knowledge about ourselves and we will also see the direction of our lives.

Christ warns us to pay attention to what we value in life, because this is what we will retain in eternal life. He tells us that what we treasure will control our hearts. What we value will determine the way that we live. This is important because we do not have enough time and energy to treasure all things equally. We therefore need to make decisions for what we will place first, what we will value most, what our treasure will be. Christ calls us to invest in a treasure that will last, a treasure that cannot be stolen or destroyed. Real wealth is obtained by investing in “treasures in heaven.” How do we secure such a treasure? By choosing to love one another.

Read More

GOSPEL: LUKE 12:(13-21)

"The Vanity of Vanities!"

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,

Riches and wealth come from God (Prov. 10:22) and no one succeeds by his (her) own strength; it all comes from God (1 Samuel 2:9). With these in mind, we ought to see riches as divine provisions to aid our eternal journey. This means that riches should not be allowed to master our lives; that is, when riches become vain. The Psalmist (62:10b) advised that when riches increase, we should not set our heart upon them.

Beyond vain riches, we are called upon in today’s Gospel to focus on the giver of riches; God Himself. The rich man in the Gospel does not appear to have committed any acts of evil. He is simply consumed by his desire to grow richer and he is totally immune from what goes on around him. Yet he is condemned for being insular and closing himself off from others. Like the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, it is not the sin of commission but that of omission, that failure to act justly that constitutes a reproachable behavior.

Read More

FIRST READING: GENESIS 18:(20-22)

GOSPEL: LUKE 11:(1-13)

"Perseverance in Prayer"

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Lord,

Our Lord Jesus Christ draws our attention to the need to always turn to God in prayer in all circumstances of our life. He reminds us that prayer is the key to unlock and enter the heart of God. Jesus not only taught us how to pray but also reassures us that if we pray God will not fail to answer us. All we need is to be persistent, patient, and humble as Abraham in Genesis 18:20-32. Abraham found himself in a difficult situation. His nomadic journey had taken him to Sodom where he had settled with his clan. However, because of the evil done there, destruction was inevitable. Strange as it sounds to us, Abraham bargained with God.

Read More

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Dear Friends,

The Gospel of Luke presents to us the account of Jesus visiting Martha and Mary.  Martha is frustrated because Mary sits and listens to Jesus while she, Martha, has to do all the work.  We experience right away the two different kinds of host mentioned in the above examples: Martha who is doing her “role” and Mary who is caught up in the happenings—no doubt learning something new and experiencing true joy in the process. Martha even complains to Jesus, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?”

Read More