Blessed are You...

by David Lins  |  02/13/2022  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

This Sunday’s readings seem particularly challenging for people who live in Carefree, Cave Creek, or North Scottsdale.

"Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours."

“Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.”

“Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”

“Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.”

I get it. Virtually no one looks in the mirror and sees themselves as rich. It’s because we always fixate on those who have more—rather than those who have less.

Here is a simple question to determine where you land: can your think of 10 neighborhoods in all of Arizona where you would rather live? (I rest my case, your honor.)

But here is the thing—it doesn’t matter! The beginning of the first reading reveals the key to all of this.

“Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”

This is the line of delineation. What you do with what you have, your attitude toward what you have, and what has your heart.

Still don’t get it? Read the responsorial psalm. “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”

If you must be rich, be rich in relationship as you share what you have without attachment. If you must have all the food you could want, use it as a means to hospitality, feeding both fellowship and the hungry.

In the end, wealth is not an evil if it is matched with generosity. (God the Father is the perfect model here.) But what people do with it can be evil. And what people don’t do with it can be evil.

In the end, it isn’t easy to be a good steward, but that is our call. That is what it is to be a Catholic.

Comments, concerns, questions? Email David at dlins@oloj.org