Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 25, 2022
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
“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,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man’s table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.’
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.’
He said, ‘Then I beg you, father,
send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers,
so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.’
But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.’
He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'”
Before today’s gospel, Jesus proclaims that “God knows [our] hearts.” Using today’s reading as an example, God teaches us an important lesson about our emotions and desires.
The rich man didn’t commit any action that was necessarily wrong toward Lazarus. From what we read, he didn’t harm or mock the beggar—he didn’t even remove him from his doorstep. He simply ignored him.
How many of us have done that same thing walking the streets of our cities? Are we morally culpable for inaction as we are for action? The Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass reminds us that we are.
The rich man is an example of a disordered heart and a reminder that our earthly desires have eternal consequences. Not just in where they land us but also in how they stick with us.
On earth, the rich man longs for and focuses on sensual pleasures—good food, fine linens—and ignores what is difficult. In the afterlife, he longs for water to cool his tongue but dismisses the idea of learning from Moses and the prophets. We can see that his inordinate desires remain with him even in his torment.
We know nothing about the actions, inactions, or desires of Lazarus. We have no way to know what circumstances came about causing him to become a poor beggar lying in the streets. But clearly, being carried to heaven is meant to be a contrast to the rich man’s experience. In that case, we may infer that Lazarus’ desires and ensuing actions practiced the virtues of temperance and fortitude.
Today, let us pray that God might help us grow in the virtue of temperance and fortitude to develop well-ordered desires informed by God’s greatest commandments.
Prayer
Loving God, we ask the help of your Spirit to keep us from using our poor brothers and sisters to maintain our own comfort. Compel employers among us to provide living wages to all we employ. Constrain our greed and expand our awareness that we are all one in you, whether rich or poor. Give us the grace to do all we can to assure that the needs of all who are your special favorites – the ones who we most often ignore- are met. We ask for the compassion and justice of Jesus, Your Son and Our Lord. Amen.
Saint of the Day
While St. Vincent Strambi was a bishop who single-handedly saved a city from Napoleon’s army, he is honored even more for so faithfully loving the Christian flock he was charged to shepherd.
The son of a pharmacist, Vincent Strambi was born in Italy in 1745. As a boy, Vincent liked to play practical jokes. The plucky good nature that inspired him to constantly prank his friends also inspired him to give away his own overcoat or shoes to any homeless child he encountered.
His parents saw his faithfulness, even at his young age, and decided that he would become a diocesan priest. Vincent made a retreat before his ordination, which was led by St. Paul-of-the-Cross, who founded the Passionist order of priests, and he decided to enter that religious community instead. His parents strongly objected, which led to a prolonged confrontation between them and Vincent.
As soon as he was ordained a Passionist priest, Vincent was asked to become a leader by teaching theology and preaching to seminarians and filling administrative roles in the Passionist community. He led the Passionist community for 20 years before being elected bishop of Macareta-Tolentino, Italy.
The virtues which ruled Vincent's life as a bishop were zeal and discipline, and these virtues enriched the lives of the priests and laity of his diocese. As bishop, Vincent was especially attentive to the people in his care during both a typhoid epidemic and when a famine struck the city. In 1808, he was commanded to take an oath of obedience to Napoleon, but St. Vincent refused, and was accordingly expelled from his diocese. He continued to guide his people through correspondence.
Five years later, Napoleon was deposed and exiled, and Vincent returned to his diocese. Soon after, however, Napoleon escaped his imprisonment and, with 30,000 soldiers, occupied Macerata as his headquarters. His troops were defeated in the Battle of Tolentino and returned to sack and loot this city in their path of retreat. But Vincent went into the streets to plead with them--his courage saved the city.
After retiring as bishop, he moved to the Vatican to serve as an advisor to the Pope. He remained faithful to prayer and penance, and he died at the age of seventy-nine in 1824. His relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica and his image is used here with permission from Catholic.org.
St. Vincent Strambi, you single-handedly saved a city from Napoleon’s army--pray for us!