Thursday of the 2nd week of Lent 


Jeremiah 17:5-10

Luke 16:19-31


AN UNBRIDGEABLE ABYSS 


How could a rich man who has everything allow a man, whose only possessions were the sores covering his body, to die right before his eyes? How could he not be sensitive to the starving neighbor sitting at his gate when he could fabulously feast every day on his table? Like the rich man in today's gospel story, nestled in the plump security of life we too can become so accustomed to making self-satisfying pleasures the driving force of our lives that we become comfortably oblivious to the poor and needy among us, the many who, like Lazarus, are so grievously deprived of what any human being basically needs to survive that they die a little more each day.


In that way, the parable shows us that when we fail to help a neighbor in need, intentionally distancing ourselves from them, we likewise distance ourselves from God. After a while, that distance becomes an abyss. As the rich man belatedly discovered, this truth may surprise us, but it will also condemn us.



PRAYER 


In your successes and achievements, may you recognize the nothingness of the world, and the goodness of the Lord and have the grace to follow him. May you never labor in vain. Amen. 



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