Lenten message from Pope Francis from Fratelli Tutti No.49

A new lifestyle is emerging, 

where we create only what we want and exclude all that we cannot control or know 

instantly and superficially.


TODAY'S WORD

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Luke: 16:25 "But Abraham said, ‘child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony."


TODAY'S REFLECTION

The story Jesus told was not about two groups or classes of people, but two individuals. 

Many of the stories Jesus told were about individual human beings. 

Perhaps Jesus was reminding us that God comes to us in the individual who crosses our path.

The Lord calls out to us through the concrete human being with whom I come face to face. 

When two individuals meet, it can sometimes be difficult to know who the needy one really is.

In the story that Jesus told, at one level it is obvious that Lazarus is the needy one. 

Yet, in reality, the rich man was in greater need.

In spite of Lazarus’ misery, his ultimate future was secure. 

For all the rich man’s good fortune, his ultimate future was anything but secure. 

In a sense, the rich man needed Lazarus more than Lazarus needed him. 

Lazarus was assured of salvation, whereas the rich man’s path to salvation was through Lazarus.

 It was in responding to Lazarus that the rich man would have made it to Abraham’s bosom. When someone who appears to be in much greater need than me crosses my path. 

I may be the really needy one and that person may be my path to God. 

We are very much dependent on one another. That is the way God made us, and we often have most to receive from those who appear to have least to give us. 

It is likely that the rich man in the parable had many friends who shared his heavily laden table. 

Lazarus seems to have had no friends. However, when he died it was revealed that he had some wonderful friends after all, the angels who carried him to Abraham’s side at the banquet of life. 

God had always been his friend. 

The tragedy was that he encountered no angels, no living signs of God’s friendship, in his earthly life. 


RESOLUTION

Lets resolve to become people who are God centered and other centered knowing that our calling is to become those angels now, to be living signs of God’s friendship to all who cross our path in life.

Have an awesome day.