The “givers” win and the “takers” lose - Play to win!

Today at Holy Mass Jesus teaches the crowds about the virtue of detachment….Jesus lived for 30 years in a family and worked…Clearly he understands the need to have certain things….He also understands the need to work hard and earn a living…But when “things” become the goal….We loss sight of God…..There is nothing wrong with making money - The question is - How do you use it?….If God has given you great gifts and those gifts permit you to earn a tremendous living, how do we employ the resources we acquire?….Do we have many children?……Do we live modestly?…Do we share with those who are not as gifted as we are?……In the Gospel today, Jesus notes an extreme example for the crowd to ponder….“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple”….The message that is trying to be communicated here is - Nothing can be placed above God…No person or thing…..When we are detached from all things, then we are free to love and serve God and only then can we love our family and serve the world the way we were called too.

“Let your face shine upon your servant; and teach me your laws”

There is nothing wrong with reaching your potential…There is nothing wrong with making money….However, write this down because it is on the “final exam”…What we do with money will determine where we spend eternity…..I can hear it now…..”Stop talking about money”……”All the Church wants is money”…..That is not the direction I am going with this reflection…I am saying flat out - There is nothing wrong with money and being a very gifted person - Its how we employ our gifts and use our hard earned money that determines everything………….When I would travel to Kolkata, India before I was married I became good friends with a Canadian Jesuit Priest….Fr Lawrence Abello SJ had a deep impact on my life…..Fr Abello could have been one of the most gifted people I ever met….He had two PhDs, one in Philosophy and one in Physics…He spoke numerous languages…He was an inventor when he wore his “physicist hat” and had two patents to his name….There is no question in my mind…If Fr Abello was not a Jesuit Priest, he would have been a multi-millionaire….Living in a place like Silicon Valley California, enjoying the best of everything…Instead, Fr Abello lived and taught for 40 years in Kolkata…If you saw him on the street and did not know him, you would have thought he was a poor man…His cloths were old and the sandals on his feet were so beat up…..Jesuits take a vow of poverty and trust me, Fr Abello took this vow seriously….Why tell you about this man?…Because Fr Abello understood what Jesus was teaching us today in the Gospel about detachment from “things”……Fr Abello was more gifted, intellectually speaking, then 99.999999% of the world’s population…..And instead of enriching himself, he put his gifts to work - Serving others…..Guess what happens when we do this. when we face the Lord at the time of our judgment?…Guess what God says?…..”Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy”…..Now not everyone is called to be a Jesuit Priest in India…I clearly was not…But the question remains - Are we detached from the “things” of this world?……How do we use our gifts?…….This is a critical aspect of how we are to live as a Catholic.……At the heart of living out this virtue of detachment, one must be honest with themselves - What drives you?…..What is your goal?…..I work on Wall Street and have worked there for almost 30 years….And I will tell you what I have observed over the course of those 30 years…..Life is a “show”…....Its all about “look at what I have”…..Trust me on this one - That model of living is not the “ticket into heaven”…..Today, Jesus is teaching us in the Gospel something very different….Is our pursuit of “things” in line with what Jesus is teaching us?…A lot rides on it......The Church does not “want your money”…......Trust me again - God has plenty of money!…..Its what you do with your gifts and talents that matter…….No one ever become poor as a result of sharing…….The happiest people in the world are the “givers” - That is no lie!…..And the “takers” - Well - They eventually come to the end of themselves, chasing after something that can never satisfy…..Because the “show” does eventually end…..Play to win - A crown awaits us - Open your hands and you will receive it!

“Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart”

Jesus today in the Gospel uses an extreme example to illustrate that nothing is more important than God…And when we order our life accordingly, all the other things…Our spouse, our children, our job, our money….All of those things fall into place……”Americanism” and its brand of Christianity, this includes many Catholics by the way - Gives a lot of lip service to this idea of detachment…..Trust me when I tell you - God does not give lip service……We can point fingers all we want to bad examples in the Catholic community - And do it all day long! - And say how many people, again many of them are Catholic, how they “love their stuff”…......While the poor of the world suffer and die…..God is not blind, He sees what you see….As I tell my five children all the time.....….”You worry about you!”…….”Strive to enter through the narrow gate”……And play to win - The one and only “game” that matters! - The “givers” win and the “takers” lose - Play to win!……………….JMJ