NOT TO STORE BUT TO SHARE

Listening to the Spirit

Prayer for Generosity

Lord, teach me to be generous,
to serve you as you deserve,
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to look for any reward,
save that of knowing that I do your holy will.

Listening to the Word

Luke 12:13–21

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?” Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.” Then he told them a parable, “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’ And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods, and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years; rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’ Thus, will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”

Reflection

Once, a seminarian asked me, “Who is more blessed—a poor man or a rich man?” I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I threw the question back to him. He replied, “The poor man.” I asked, “Why?” He answered, “Because the rich man is afraid to become poor, but the poor man is not afraid to become rich.” That made me recall something a wise man once said: “Some people are so poor that the only thing they have is money.” I have celebrated many funeral Masses for wealthy individuals—often attended by only a few. Why? Because those who passed away didn’t possess the kind of wealth that truly matters: friends, love, and relationships. As we say in Tagalog: “Kung pera lang ang meron ka, kawawa ka naman.” You are not truly wealthy until you have something that money cannot buy. Money, by itself, is no guarantee of joy, peace, or eternal life.

This brings us to the Gospel today—Luke 12:13–21, the parable of the rich fool. Jesus tells the story of a man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. Instead of sharing or being thankful, the man planned to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, telling himself to relax, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” The problem was not the man’s wealth—but his attitude toward it. He hoarded instead of sharing, planned for himself instead of living for God, and became so attached to his possessions that he forgot the one thing he could not control: the end of his life.

Jesus never condemned wealth itself. What He condemned is being possessed by our possessions—when we build our identity around what we own, rather than who we are before God. What we have is not truly ours; we are only stewards. These gifts are entrusted to us—not to store, but to share. Not to cling to, but to use for love, mercy, and—most especially—for service to the least, the lost, and the last.

St. John Mary Vianney, the feast we are celebrating this Sunday, once said: “The reason why we have nothing to fear from poverty is because it makes us more like Our Lord, who was poor.” He also reminds us: “You must accept your cross. If you bear it courageously, it will carry you to Heaven.”

These words point us back to the heart of the Gospel: detachment, generosity, and love. If God has blessed us with more, like the man in the parable, then He is also calling us to give more, love more, and serve more. In the end, it is not what we accumulate that saves us—It is what we give away in love.