“Make Room!”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
July 30 -31, 2022
Gospel: Luke 12:13-21
13 A man in the crowd said to Him, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’ 14 He said to him, ‘My friend, who appointed Me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’ 15 Then He said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.’ 16 Then He told them a parable, ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, 17 thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” 18 Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, 19 and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.” 20 But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?” 21 So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.’
In the last verses of the 12th chapter of Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the saint earnestly desires higher gifts. He wrote:
“First, I seek the higher gifts and I will show you a more excellent way. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.”
And that’s true. Saint Paul continues with the theme of love in the 13th chapter. Love is the one thing we should desire above all else. God is love itself. He wants to make us wealthy in His love, and He teaches us how to grow in that love. The one thing we can be truly rich in is to always possess Him and to be possessed by Him.
The more you experience the love of God, the more you want. With God you can never get enough. We are inspired and motivated to make more room for Him in our souls through our works, prayer, and self-sacrifice to possess Him and be possessed by Him. Doing so will enlarge and beautify our souls for a proper dwelling place for Him. And when we have that possession, we have an ever-increasing wealth. Then all the other things we have will assume their proper role.
But it’s never enough. It’s like being in an Irish family. . .there’s always room for one more. There is always room for more love.
Did you know that you can go to Mass more than once a week? You can receive Holy Communion up to three times a day. . .did you know that? You can go to Confession once a day. . .twice, if you’ve done something really bad. If you want to drive over to the Catholic church in Concord so you don’t have to see me, that’s okay – I get it, as long as you go. There is no limit on God’s desire to be a part of your soul. And when we are possessed by Him what happens? We are transformed, and all the things we have find their proper place.
Sometimes, every now and again, we realize how truly rich we are. “Well, Father, I’m not really rich. Have you seen my bank statement?” I’m not talking about that. “Father, I don’t live in a nice house.” I’m not talking about that. “Father, I don’t have a nice car.” I’m not talking about that either. Look at all the sufferings you have. Look at how rich you are. Even with the worse things in your life, you are chosen. You have much to offer God for the sanctification of souls. You are truly rich, because it is in that pain and suffering we have all endured or are enduring that we share in the suffering of Christ for the redemption of the world.
How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________
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