Feast of Saint Peter Damian (21 Feb 2008)

One day, Our Lord was speaking to his own disciples and a group of others who had gathered around him. He told a story about a wealthy man and a poor, diseased beggar who lay at his gate. Jesus tells us that the poor man’s name was Lazarus, and that he would love to have had the scraps that were gathered from the table after the rich man and his family and friends had eaten, but no one gave them to him. We all know the story; we’ve heard it many times at Mass and maybe elsewhere. What I’d like to call to your attention today is that that simple story has helped to change the world. Why? Because it is part of the gospel of Our Divine Lord. And, as Jesus says in the gospel, man lives on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Just imagine how many people have heard that story since Our Lord first told it. I do not claim that only Christianity preaches kindness and concern for the poor, however I do maintain that that story is perhaps the classic statement of the need that we have to be kind and helpful to the poor, since our eternal salvation depends upon it. In the story, the rich man wound up in hell because he did not help the poor in this world. The poor man wound up in heaven because he had suffered on earth, and now deserved blessedness.

What about us? Are we the poor man in the story, or the rich man? Actually, we’re both. We’re rich in the sense that there are many in this world who are in need of basic necessities which we have. Do we share with them? But we are also poor in the sense that we very badly NEED what Our Divine Lord alone can give us—salvation. And he did that with great abundance and kindness by dying his redemptive death on the cross for us. Without that, we would have no hope of entering heaven one day. Now that he has died for us and risen to new life, he makes his salvation available to us by means of the Church, the Sacraments, the Commandments, and the opportunity to do good. Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you. Father Victor Brown., O.P.