Reflection for the Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2022

  It  seems  as though worry is not foreign  to most people . In fact, for some, worry brings ongoing suffering. To love caught up in the grip of worry is to miss out on the pleasures of life. Any number of circumstances – physical or psychological-can cause us to be anxious and concerned.

          The Gospel described a different view on worry. Saint Luke relates the dilemma of a rich man who has so much prosperity that he does not know what to do with it. Eventually, he decides to put it in storage and he tells himself to relax:  you have blessings in reserve for years to come.  Yet, his sense of security is illusionary. Little does he realize that on this very evening he will die.

     Even as we accept this part of our humanness, we still need to hear what Saint Paul tells us . He says to his friends:  Be intent on things above rather than things of earth.  Later he adds, commenting on our connection with God through Jesus:  Rather , Christ is everything in all of you. For Saint Paul, the only parts of life that will endure are the Spiritual realities, that is, our inner of life’s ups and downs.

         Still, we should not discount how much suffering can come from worrying. We must be compassionate toward ourselves and others who are afflicted by worry. We can also ask God to help us. We can practice what Saint Paul teaches by focusing on one day at a time and surrendering  our worries to God. As we practice this Spiritual approach to our lives, a new reality can emerge. – not just less suffering, but discovery of God’s peace dwelling within us. We will say with Saint Paul that God has become the everything  of our lives.

God bless you all

Fr. Dominic

Your brother in Christ