The entire gospel can be explained on one hand, by showing five fingers and in five words - Ready? - YOU DID IT TO ME

Today at Holy Mass we hear in the Gospel the story of Lazarus, who lived a wonderful life…He had everything…But amidst his comfort, he loses sight of the eternal…..How easy it is to fall into this trap!…….A Catholic has eyes to see! - To see the suffering of those around him - Both the material suffering and the spiritual suffering of others - But before we “act” we must “see”…So I think the questions we must explore today are….What made Lazarus blind and how do we today in our own world obtain eyes to see?….The first reading at Mass today addresses this same theme….”Woe to the complacent in Zion! Lying upon beds of ivory, stretched comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs taken from the flock, and calves from the stall! Improvising to the music of the harp, like David, they devise their own accompaniment. They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!”……..When I read this passage the words that literally jumped off the page at me were…..”Yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!”…….How could these people be unaware of a person who just collapsed in front of them?!?….Yet - When I think of my own life….When I commute into New York City for work…How many people do I walk passed who are sleeping on the sidewalk - Or worse then that! - What I see each day on the sidewalks of Manhattan can be both terrifying and heart breaking…….While we can only do what we can do in this life…..If we have been blessed materially - Do we even "see" the suffering of others?….Or are we self absorbed?……Our vision is made clear by a clean heart…..A clean heart can only be achieved through frequent Sacramental Confession and the reception of the Blessed Sacrament…….Professing a belief in Jesus is great - But that does not wipe away sin…A mistake of many…..And reading the Bible is great - I do it daily…But that does not fed us in the way the very flesh of Christ does when we receive the Eucharist in the state of grace,…This is how we obtain a clean heart - The only way - And this is how we “see”…..Because without sight - Those who suffer around us, even within our own family become invisible - We can careless in may cases - Let’s be honest - And even if we “see” them - We do nothing about it……There are consequences to living in that manner….”Abraham replied, 'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours”….Those who have ears - Let them hear….But again, before we can act…We have to "see"

“Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich”

Mother Teresa’s sisters have a convent in the West Village in Lower Manhattan…I served there for many years……Many of the apartments around the convent are very expensive…In fact, over the years, I even ran into famous people who lived in the neighborhood….Interestingly enough, amidst all these expensive apartments a few blocks away was an old boarding house…..Before the West Village became "the place to be” for the rich, it was a run down part of Manhattan where the very poor lived…This boarding house was a remnant of that time period….In this boarding house, a man named John lived…John was an alcoholic, who periodically needed help from Mother Teresa’s sisters….The nuns knew him and over time I got to know him by sight as well…..One Saturday afternoon, John came to the door of the convent….He was all “beat up” - God knows the drama the poor of our cities have to live through each and everyday - But I digress…I greeted John at the door….And he handed me a frozen turkey and asked I give it to the sisters, which I of course did….I later found out from the nuns that during the week, the sisters helped him out and giving the nuns a frozen turkey was a way John was “paying the good deed done to him forward”…..Why do I bring this up?….John was very poor….Living day to day and hand to mouth….How is it that John “sees” the suffering of others?….And say his neighbors living in multi-million dollar apartments do not “see” others in need?……Does that make any sense?…..Sadly, it does….John “saw” what the rich around did not because John knew first hand what it meant to go without…When a person knows what it means to suffer, that person is far more likely to help another, who they see is suffering too, then a person who never experienced suffering in a material way….Why bring this reality up?…..Just as we are told in in the readings today at Mass….The rich are “blind”…They can not “see”…Even when someone literally “collapses” in front of them….This reality should serve as a warning to all of us, who live very comfortable lives - I being one of those people!….How easy it is to ignore the poor…To take for granted the material blessings of our own life.....St Peter Chrysologus, a Doctor of the Catholic Church puts it this way…..”Why do we not exchange earth for heaven?”….”Why do we not purchase what is eternal with what is transitory?”…..Why do we not use what is going to perish to buy what lasts forever?……John, the poor alcoholic, who lived down the street from Mother Teresa’s sisters in Lower Manhattan somehow figured this out - And he had nothing in his pockets….…Have we figured this out? - Think long and hard about what I just wrote - Its on the “final exam”

"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores”

Today at Mass we are reminded of our obligation to assist those in need…Before many of the readers of this reflection "tune out".....Let me say a few things about that obligation placed upon us by Jesus himself…First, no one every became poor by sharing….Second, those who share are BY FAR the happiest people you will ever want to meet….And lastly, not only does hoarding make us miserable in the here and now - Make no mistake about it - Because it does - But hoarding our wealth and not sharing it to build up the Kingdom of God has eternal consequences….Let’s be clear about that…..This reflection most probably will not “change” anyone’s mind when it comes to how they view the poor of the world…However, living a Sacramental life will…If we confess our sins regularly to a Catholic priest and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace…You will most certainly “see” the poor around you…And that is a start…And the closer you get to Christ by consistently living a Sacramental life will propel you to serve the poor - Putting your faith into action…...Why is this so important?…Again - ”Because what you do to least among you - You do for me”…Those are not my words - Those are the words of the Carpenter from Nazareth……..Mother Teresa famously said that the entire gospel can be explained on one hand, by showing five fingers and in five words - Ready? - YOU DID IT TO ME………JMJ