Daily Reflections- August 21, 2012

The Camel at the narrow Gate   I don’t know how you feel when you see homeless families in the streets and then hear about politicians and other members of our society amassing millions, even billions of pesos. They hide their wealth in foreign banks, buy one condo after the other and have a whole fleet of luxury cars in their garage. And often these people regularly go to Mass and think they are good Christians. I do not judge them but I wonder whether they will not have great problems entering the narrow gate of heaven. Jesus does not say that it is impossible for a rich person to enter heaven, but He did say it would be very, very difficult. Zacchaeus was a rich man but he repented and made up for the injustice he did to the poorer members of his town. Joseph of Arimathaea was so rich that he could afford a tomb carved in rock but he shared it when Jesus died and had no place to be buried. They shared what they had. And luckily, I know several quite affluent people who generously share what they have with the poor and needy in our society. In Jerusalem, I usually bring my pilgrim group to an old city gate which in ancient times was closed at sunset. It was not opened for latecomers but there was a small gate beside to enter the city. A camel would kneel in front, the owner would remove all the luggage and push the camel through the narrow gate. Thanks to the owner’s effort to relieve the animal of its bulging baggage, it could enter the narrow gate. Unfortunately, some rich people have nobody who would do that for them so that they could enter through the narrow gate of heaven. Another danger of wealth is that it makes a person often selfish. It makes him restless because there is the fear to lose what one has amassed. Another danger is that all a rich person thinks of and worries about is money. And Jesus once said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart also is.” Our heart is supposed to be with the Lord and His Kingdom. Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD     REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Are you too attached to material things? Is it easy for you to share what you have?   Lord, make me always aware that everything I have is a gift from You, which is meant not only for me but to be shared with my less fortunate brothers and sisters.