Prince of Peace Parish, A Catholic Community in Northwest San Antonio, Texas

 


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7893 Grissom Rd. San Antonio, TX> 78251 - Parish Office  210-681-8330 - Religious Education FAX 210-681-2286

 

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FAITH SHARING

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Where is Security?

 

 

INVITATION TO PRAY

Pause for a few moments of silence and enter more deeply into the presence of God.

Song:  "The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor," John Foley, Gather, Glory and Praise

 

Proclaim the Gospel of Luke 12:13-21

Parable of the Rich Fool

As you listen to the gospel be attentive to a word, a phrase, a question, an image, or a feeling that emerges.  Reflect on this quietly or share it aloud. (The other readings for this Sunday are Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2: 21-23; Psalm 90; and Colossians 3: 1-5, 9-11.) 

INVITATION TO REFLECT

            A sobering moment is interrupted by what appears to be a trite exchange.  Jesus and his disciples are on the road to Jerusalem.  They have been discussing the serious implications of the road ahead.  Jesus is asked to settle a rather mundane issue regarding inheritance.  Luke uses this vignette as a teachable moment on the seductive power of material possessions.  Excessive concentration on material goods is human nature's way of dealing with the ambiguities of life and its fleeting nature.  The rich man in Jesus' parable believed that his over abundant crops would buy his future security.  In the end they provided nothing.  His security was misplaced.

            Material possessions do not offer security.  Our security rests in God alone.  We are to spend our lives promoting the reign of God on earth as we await the reign of God to come.  Life is our greatest gift.  The challenge of the gospel is to put our energy and our trust in things that do not perish.  And place our security in God, the Lavish Giver of all Gifts.

            Christians are invited to let go of their attachment to material possessions.  The disciples were not only invited to let go of the fear of their futures and to divest themselves of their attachments, but also to turn their lives over completely to the Master of their destiny.  Only then would they know true freedom as God's children.  The amassing of wealth for a future day is not a response of faith according to Luke.

            Today's gospel asks us the difficult question:  "Have we been more evangelized by the gospel of rugged individualism than we have been by the gospel of Jesus Christ?"  A response in faith to the living God who provides and cares for his people is to lay down our lives for one another and to be generous in sharing our wealth with those in need.  Spiritual freedom allows Christians to share what they have with others, especially those who hold a special place of honor in Jesus' heart – the poor, the oppressed and marginalized.    

INVITATION TO GROUP SHARING

  1. What are some ways our society is seduced by material possessions?  What are the symptoms of such seduction?
  2. Have I ever been seduced by material goods?  How does the story of the rich man speak of my life or my experience?  What (if any) are the attachments in my life?
  3. Is God the center of my life and the master of my destiny?
  4. What are the inherent challenges of today's gospel for the community and for me personally?

INVITATION TO ACT

Determine a specific action (individual or group) that flows from your sharing.  These should be your primary considerations.  When choosing an individual action, determine what you will do and share it with the group.  When choosing a group action, determine who will take responsibility for different aspects of the action.  This should be your primary considerations   The following are secondary suggestions:

  1. Spend at least ten minutes a night in prayer and reflection to determine where the areas of excessive attachment to material goods exists in your life, and to pray that the obstacles to your relationship with God be removed.  Take action to rectify this.
  2. Do the poor enter into your discussions about the way in which your money is managed?  Are there provisions for the poor in your portfolios?  Are there any projects at Prince of Peace or wider community which support the needs of the poor?  Perhaps your group might be willing to initiate or participate in such a project.  What about helping out with the branch of the St. Vincent De Paul at Prince of Peace?
  3. Determine the ways in which your life is overly materialistic and take one small step each week to change.  For example, do you have ten sweaters when you only need two or three?  Are there clothes and goods around your home that need to be sorted and given to the poor?
  4. Enter into a relationship with one poor person or family in your community.  Befriend them, as Jesus did.  Resolve to not "do" for them, but concentrate on "being" with them.

CLOSING INVITATION TO PRAY

Give thanks to God (aloud or silently) for new insights, for desires awakened, for directions clarified, for the gift of one another's openness and sensitivity.  Conclude with the following prayer: 

God of Life, all things are of your making.  You provide us with every good gift.  You bless us with the abundance of the earth and you ask us to be stewards of that abundance.  Help us to put you first in our lives.  Teach us that all that we have comes from you.  Give us the strength to resist the seductions of this world, and gift us with your compassion, so that we may share your gifts with all the children of the earth.  We ask this through Christ, our Lord.  Amen.

 

 

 (Adapted from PRAYERTIME, Cycle C: Faith-Sharing Reflections on the Sunday Gospels, Robert Heyer, editor. Copyright © 2001 by RENEW International.)

  

     

 

 


 

 

 

 

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