Enough already!

The point of the readings today is that, the things of this earth will never be enough. Like, i.e., when I’m in prayer this morning, I was praying, but I was also thinking about the eggs and the breakfast sausage that I would eat afterwards. So even when we try and do heavenly things we are pulled back down to earthly realities. If you’ve ever had the thought, “What’s this all about?!” Can you imagine wise Solomon having that exact same question and having no answers!!!!He loves God, but, explores pleasures, and riches, and even earthly wisdom and finds that both the fool and the wise man both die, what’s the advantage? With pleasures, they will end and i will be sad again, (THe breakfast sausage and the eggs I won’t even fully appreciate because I’ll just watch tv while i eat them), and the riches, well, I’ll just leave them to somebody else anyway who didn’t have to work for them and will probably just waste it on things that I wouldn’t have! So what’s the point of everything!!!!

But St. Paul warns us, Colossians 3:5 “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry.”

He warns us to put on the new self… but how do I do that?!?! A renewed self with new knowledge?!

We all seek security!!! WE just want to be safe and we just want to have enough so that we don’t have to work. We want to play golf, or watch other people enjoy their lives or being entertaining, or just eat nice stuff, or get really fit or have a diverse portfolio with passive income and cash flowing assets and then we can relax because we’ve made it!!!!! “But you fool! This night your life will be required of you!”

This life is a pilgrimage where everything is a test for us, to pull us towards Christ’s open heart on the cross. Everything tests us! “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”

We are pilgrims in this life. Which means we are passing through. So we travel lightly. Whether you travel first class or coach, the point is that you find and travel with Christ.

St. Paul adds, “If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God…for Christ your life will appear…and Christ is all and in all!”

Have you ever heard of a family that fought over an inheritance? Has that happened in your family? This even happened in the Gospels, in today’s and in the parable of the prodigal son…twice. Or maybe you haven’t, because “my family would never do that.” Hopefully not, but we must know that Christ told this story of the rich man with no name because you and I, we, are perfectly capable of acting like this guy.

In a recent interview, Scottie Schefler, the #1 golfer in the world was asking a similar question as our Qoheleth asked in the first reading. What is it all about?!?! All things are vanity! Mr. Schefler was being asked what winning felt like and how much this or that victory meant to him. He responded with, “It’s fun and exhilerating for about three minutes, and then the same questions come up, hey honey, what’s for dinner and is the baby ready for bed?! I’d rather be known to be a good husband and a good father. And if I ever stop doing that, then maybe I would need to put down the clubs.” After this went viral he proceeded to go and win yet another major championship, the Open, which was in Ireland this year. Praise God! A man who loves the Lord and has his priorities straight went out and beat all the others in the field. I’m sure some of them have perspective too and I bet others would make an idol out of that trophy.

Maybe some of us know victory, but many and all of us know these words in our bones and muscles “All man’s days, sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.”

And yet, we are allowed to pray with the psalmist, “Have pity on your servants!…prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands.” Ps 90:17

Christ said, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, [remember] one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

I know in my own life, if I just get this glove and this bat, then I’ll be successful turned into, this car, if I can just get these wheels and this exhaust, turned into, if I could just marry the right girl, turned into, if I could just play well enough, turned into if I could just get a good enough grade, turned into if I could just pass this test, turned into if i could just get this job, turned into this and that. We are supposed to accomplish things, and yes meet people and share ideas. But all our endeavors end. And not that our life doesn’t matter. IT ALL MATTERS. But in the end, all that will remain is Christ and the Kingdom. Everything else will be tested and destroyed by fire. You can be on board with Christ your whole life long. Or you can dream about that barn and making it bigger and bigger and bigger. We all have a barn which represents all those things we don’t have, that if we just had a little bit more of, but that is incomplete.

I just watched F1, and the head race car driver was telling the younger one who was all preoccupied from the person sitting right in front of Him with all the opinions online of himself, “Its just noise man, its all just noise.” Listen now to what the Lord is telling you at this Mass… “Its all just noise.” What is the barn, what is the noise, what is your preoccupation and your drive throughout the day and where does that fit in with getting you and your friends into the kingdom of heaven?!

Español … El Señor, nos basta

puedo ver en el evangelio de hoy, una nueva torre de babel, no? Una cosa construida. Que hizo el primero, Por orgullo se separon y causo la diversidad como un castigo. Y hoy? La torre causó el hombre de cometer suicidio social. No necesito a nadie. Voy a vivir mi vida, solo. Interesante no, porque su cosecha va a crecer otra vez. Pero no, no necesito trabajo, está bien! En este ejemplo, su avaricio causó a él no pensar en nadie. Los sacerdotes en el templo, Necesitan un desayuno, No. Dios, puedo ofrecer un sacrifico cereal? No. Los pobres y vecinos, una fiesta o una mercado para intercambiar? No. El avaricio es curioso, porque no siempre el avaricio es, más. En este caso, El tenía suficiente, su granero, pero, lo que faltó era Cristo.

1 Cor 4,8 Al parecer, ustedes ya son ricos, y tienen todo lo que pueden desear, y se sienten como reyes que nada necesitan de nosotros. ¡Ojalá fueran reyes de verdad, para que nosotros tuviéramos parte en su reino! 

Scottie Schefler

“¿Es genial poder ganar torneos y lograr las cosas que he logrado en el golf? Sí, me trae lágrimas a los ojos solo pensarlo porque literalmente he trabajado toda mi vida para ser bueno en este deporte”

“Pero al final del día, no estoy aquí para inspirar a la próxima generación de golfistas”, expresó. “No estoy aquí para inspirar a alguien a ser el mejor jugador del mundo porque, ¿cuál es el punto? Esta no es una vida plena. Es plena desde el sentido de logro, pero no es plena desde el sentido de los lugares más profundos de tú corazón

Si no soy un buen padre ni esposo, quizas seria la hora para cesar de jugar…

Eclesiastes

Que dijo Cohelet?

De día dolores penas y fatigas, de noche no descansa.

Entendemos la rueda que nunca termina.

Si estamos tratando de construir un legado, o riquezas, o la juventúd otra vez, o aún la salúd o un matrimonio existoso POR SU PROPIO bien aparte del plan del Reino, vamos a recibir el castigo del Señor,

Insensato! Esta misma noche vas a morir, para quien seran todos tus bienes. Lo mismo le pasa al que amontona riquezas para sí mismo y no se hace rico de lo que vale ante Dios.

Que dice San Pablo?  Pongan todo el corazón en los bienes del cielo, no en los de la tierra, porque han muerto y su vida está escondida con Cristo en Dios. 

Den muerte, pues, a todo lo malo que hay en ustedes: la fornicación, la impureza, las pasiones desordenadas, los malos deseos y la avaricia, que es una forma de idolatría. 

Yo quiero hacer nada por el resto de mi vida!!!!! Necio! Insensato! Comemos, Tomamos, seas feliz porque ahora vivamos, pero mañana moriremos!

No!

El mundo nos ofrece comodidad, pero no fuimos hechos para la comodidad, sino para la grandeza, Benedicto XVI

Cosas no son malos, no indiferentes, neutrales. Pero, nosotros, no tanto. Podemos atar nuestros corazones a las cosas del mundo. Satanas va a usar avaricio y presentarle como algo bueno, aun Americano, pero necesitamos guardar el corazon hacia Dios y afuera de las cosas del mundo. Como, recordar los pobres, tener una caridad que se importa. La iglesia, recuerda tu diezmo, solo faltamos como iglesia quinientos mil dólares.

Voy a terminar con una cita de Fulton Sheen

[El misterio del mundo es que pende entre Dios y Satanás. La lucha ha comenzado. El tentador ya está en nuestro corazón: «21 Porque de adentro, es decir, del corazón de los hombres, salen los malos pensamientos, la inmoralidad sexual, los robos, los asesinatos, los adulterios, la codicia, las maldades, el engaño, los vicios, la envidia, los chismes, el orgullo y la falta de juicio. Todas estas cosas malas salen de adentro y hacen impuro al hombre.» (Marcos 7:21-23). Sin embargo, el momento de la tentación es una oportunidad para que nosotros, los siervos de Dios, mostremos la gloria de Dios mediante encuentros exitosos

No quejamos, tenemos una jornada, una lucha contra satanas y nuestros mismos y el mundo. Ser un Cristiano no significa que sería comodo siempre, y si no, tengo un consuelo con Dios en la cruz, pero, vamos a vivir para agradar nuestro Padre en el cielo, y tener un gozo que el mundo y satanas no tienen, y llegar al cielo con otros amigos de Cristo.