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Gospel: Matthew 14: 13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint John Vianney, the Patron Saint of priests.

John was born in 18^th century France. Raised by his parents who were humble farmers, he did not receive any formal education until he entered the seminary as a young adult. While he was never considered the brightest student, he was certainly among the holiest. 

Three years after his priestly ordination, John was sent to the small town of Ars, with just 230 residents. There he not only dedicated his life to the spiritual care of the faithful; he also became known as a warm and gentle confessor.

As his reputation spread, he began spending up to 18 hours a day inside the confessional, hearing the confessions of people from around France and beyond. Some estimates state that he eventually heard more than 20,000 confessions a year.

What was once a sleepy town in France became known as, “the great hospital of souls.”

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Part of what made John such a special priest was the fact that he was merciful to all who sought his counsel, imposing very minor penances on pilgrims, while performing much greater penance for the sake of their souls himself.

Examples include eating a very meager diet, such as a single potato a day, and allowing himself a few meager hours of rest.

Before his death, John was quoted as saying, “If we really understood the priest on earth, we would die – not of fear, but of love.” 

John understood that priests are not only Christ’s representative on earth, making the Lord present through the grace of the Sacraments; but priests are also called to live like Jesus, who gave his very Self for the sake of his flock.

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Today let’s pray for all priests, especially for those in need of spiritual renewal, that we’d embrace the lightheartedness of John; that we’d be gentle confessors; that we’d embrace a life of penance; and that all who interact with us see Who they saw in John:

Jesus Christ.

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Image credits: (1) Diocese of Raleigh (2) Catholic Art Company (3) Vianney Vocations

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Gospel: 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Arthur Brooks is a Catholic professor at Harvard, who teaches an elective on happiness. This is currently the most popular class on campus with a waiting list of over 400 students!

Brooks claims that all of his students are right-brained, intelligent, high-achievers who have a world of possibilities before them, yet many struggle with feeling unhappy or depressed… and they want to better understand why.

While there can be many factors underlying these feelings, Brooks says that one trap any human being can fall into – not just students at Harvard – is what he calls the “arrival fallacy.”

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The “arrival fallacy” is the belief that achieving a long-term goal will make us happy. Yet when we do, the feeling is short-lived.

Consider Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler is currently the best golfer in the world. (I’m jealous). But after winning his last major golf tournament, Scheffler admitted that the happiness he felt from all of his worldly success was short lived.

Sometimes the euphoria of winning only lasted a matter of minutes.

“You get there,” he said to reporters after raising his trophy and receiving a seven-figure payout, “you get to No. 1 in the world, and you’re like, ‘What’s the point?’ … Does it fill the deepest wants and desires of my heart?”

“Absolutely not.”

Standing on top of the world, Scheffler speaks prophetically: we need more than worldly success or “larger barns” to be happy.

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In today’s Gospel, a man feels miffed by his older brother. Their father has died and now the man wants his share of the family wealth. 

“Teacher,” he says to Jesus, “tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.” According to the Book of Deuteronomy, the eldest son was poised to receive double the inheritance of any younger brother, leaving this man feeling cheated.

Doesn’t he sound a lot like Martha, whom we encountered in the Gospel a few weeks ago?

Martha and her sister, Mary, hosted the Lord for a meal. But after working in the kitchen for some time by herself, Martha stormed into the living room, interrupted Jesus, accused her sister of causing all of her anxiety, then commanded Jesus, “Tell her to help me!”

Both Martha and this disgruntled younger brother believe they have the solution to their unhappiness – either more wealth or a helping hand from their sibling. They just need Jesus to issue the verdict.

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Peering into this disgruntled brother’s heart, Jesus offers him a parable, instead. A rich man’s land produced a bountiful harvest. So, he asked himself, “What shall I do, for I do not have enough 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 I’m left wondering, be merry with whom?

This man never considers anyone other than himself. Foolishly, he believes he’ll be content, not with people, but with things. Then God demands his life that very night.

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If the disgruntled younger brother is not careful, then he can become the man in the parable – selfish, greedy, entirely alone.

The fact that he’s arguing with his older brother over a family inheritance implies that he already has enough to survive; if they were poor, then there would’ve been nothing to argue about! 

But money is always about more than money. In this case, money aggravates an already fragile relationship between brothers.

Thus, what both men should be concerned about more than their father’s estate is reconciliation. If they cannot learn the art of forgiveness, then neither will live in peace; the anger and resentment will simmer, slowly burning away any peace in their hearts.

Secondly, they – and we – should be weary of the “arrival fallacy.” 

While there is an undeniable sense of satisfaction that comes from achieving our worldly goals – even our share of an inheritance – lasting happiness is not the fruit of raising a trophy or building larger barns. 

According to Arthur Brooks, the path to happiness is a bit more complex. In fact, he identifies six different behaviors that happy people practice, which the man in the parable does not:

Happy people ask deep questions. They fall in love. They look upward. They’re spiritual or philosophical. They find a calling in their work. They seek beauty in nature, art, and music. And they’re not afraid of suffering.

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Do these ideas of happiness resonate with me? 

Like Scottie Scheffler, have I come to see there’s more to life than winning?

Or, do I find myself building larger barns in an effort to make myself happy? 

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“Be rich in what matters to God,” Jesus says.

Ask the bigger questions.

Share life’s blessings with others.

Fall in love.

Then we’ll be happy.

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Image credits: (1) Maria Moor, Medium (2) Parsippany United Methodist Church (3) Medium

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 54-58

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Mother Teresa used to run a school for street children in downtown Calcutta. Written on the wall outside the school’s entrance was a set of teachings everyone was encouraged to follow, including the following: 

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People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

The good you do today will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

In the end, what you do is between you and God. It’s never between you and them anyway.

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In the Gospel, Jesus returns to his hometown, where he’s not welcomed like one might expect. Rather, he’s bombarded with skepticism and doubt as people question, “Where did this man get such wisdom? … Is he not the carpenter’s son?” 

Rather than trying to fit in, the Lord chooses to be himself, to preach the truth, and then move on to the next town.

Some will come to believe in him because of his words, while others will not. But he’s not out to please the locals anyway; he only wants to do his Father’s will.

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Similarly, sometimes the good we do either goes unnoticed by others or is taken for granted. 

Do good anyway.

The one we seek to please is not of this world; like Jesus, we serve our Father in heaven.

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Image credits: (1) Cornerstone Magazine (2) The Independent (3) Pinterest