First Reading
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
1. Is there more of “toil and anxiety” than you want in your life? Would an increase in faith serve the same purpose as a pill for curing anxiety?
2. This reading is about priorities. Do yours occasionally need to be checked and rearranged? Louisa Mae Alcott, toward the end of chapter 40 in her book, Little Women, says, “Love is the only thing that we can carry with us when we go, and it makes the end so easy.” Discuss.
Second Reading
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11
1. Not that there is anything wrong with some of our practices in the Church, but might we discover through synodality discussions that taking off the “old self with its practices and putting on the new self” is helpful in “seeking what is above”?
2. “Here there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision. … ” Could St. Paul give the same speech today? How would acting as if “Christ is all and in all” solve today’s problems like racism?
Gospel
Luke 12:13-21
1. Many would determine their worth as a person by the greatness of their house or portfolio or the make of their car. What about you? How do you estimate a person’s worth? Is it possible for a person to have much and still give much?
2. What are some qualities that “matter to God”? On the other hand, what might be the source of anxiety, adversity, abuse of power, and war? What, according to Pope Francis is the source of true happiness?
It is understood that this does not mean estranging oneself from reality, but rather seeking the things that have true value: justice, solidarity, welcome, fraternity, peace, all things that make up the true dignity of mankind. It is a case of leading a life that is fulfilled not according to a worldly manner, but rather according to the style of the Gospel: to love God with all one’s being, and love one’s neighbor as Jesus loved him, that is, in service and in giving oneself. Covetousness of goods, the desire to have goods, does not satisfy the heart, but rather causes more hunger! Covetousness is like those tasty candies: you take one and say: “Ah! It is so good,” and then you take another; and one follows the other. Such is covetousness: it never satisfies. Be careful! Love that is understood and lived in [the style of the Gospel] is the source of true happiness, whereas the exaggerated search for material goods and wealth is often a source of anxiety, adversity, abuse of power, war. Many wars begin from covetousness.
Rich man with a bountiful harvest
Pope Francis, Angelus, 8/4/2019
* Here is a paragraph from near the end of the 2014 Extraordinary Synod. How does this reflect that the Church is seeking to do what matters to God, and as the Second Reading says, “what is above”?
And this is the Church, the vineyard of the Lord, the fertile Mother and the caring Teacher, who is not afraid to roll up her sleeves to pour oil and wine on people’s wound; who doesn’t see humanity as a house of glass to judge or categorize people. This is the Church, One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and composed of sinners needful of God’s mercy. This is the Church, the true bride of Christ, who seeks to be faithful to her spouse and to her doctrine. It is the Church that is not afraid to eat and drink with prostitutes and publicans. The Church that has the doors wide open to receive the needy, the penitent, and not only the just or those who believe they are perfect! The Church that is not ashamed of the fallen brother and pretends not to see him, but on the contrary feels involved and almost obliged to lift him up and to encourage him to take up the journey again and accompany him toward a definitive encounter with her Spouse, in the heavenly Jerusalem.
Address of His Holiness Pope Francis
to the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
October 18, 2014