26TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - THERE IS NO PLACE FOR APATHY, COMPLANCENCY, OR INDIFFERENCE, AMONG GOD'S PEOPLE..........

Those of us who hear and answer the call to Catholic-Christian Discipleship, are called to the fullness of the sacred mysteries of Faith and Fellowship.  We are challenged by the Word of God and the Sacramental Life of the Church, to be fully engaged in the Community of Believers, in our presence at Sunday Mass weekly, and also in our active participation in the day to day ministries and activities of parish life.  Just showing up on Sunday to fulfill an obligation, is incomplete; it must be joined to an earnest effort on each our parts to share in the serving, shaping, and sending forth of all the members of the faith community, to contribute by their personal and communal efforts to the betterment of being Church, and to effectively building up the Coming of God's Kingdom.  There is no place within Catholic-Christianity for apathy, complacancy, or indifference among any of us professing Discipleship.  The lesson for us from today's parable in the Gospel of  Luke, is an apt example.  The rich man was so self absorbed and blinded by his affluence and privilege, that he failed to see the starving beggar man constantly outside his door.  And the counter cultural reversal of rich and poor, good and bad, plays out powerfully in this Gospel passage, as Lazarus, the poor man is immensely rewarded with fulfillment and happiness in the bosom of Abraham in God's Eternal Kingdom, while the rich man suffers total detachment and torment in the afterlife, divided from the possessions, power, and privileges, of his earthly existence.   It is a valuable lesson for us to ponder : How well are we generously sharing the successes and good things on lives on earth afford us ?  Most people are not as wealthy as the parabolic rich man, but neither can we take for granted, or become complacent and indifferent, to serving the common good in our midst, as we give homage and honor to the glory of God.  As this week unfolds, what will you do to be less like the rich man was on earth and become more like the poor man Lazarus, is now in Heaven ?  The future of our everlasting lives is very much shaped everyday, by the awareness we exercise, the actions we take, and the awesomeness of living as Jesus the Christ's Disciples today and always, that is the definition of the total fulfillment and happiness we hope to share in for infinity..........Peace And Justice Throughout The World For The Poor, the Persecuted, And The Marginalized,   Fr.  Troy