Thursday of the Second Week of Lent
Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Lk 16: 19-31
March 9, 2023 | Thursday
Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores. It happened that the poor man died, and angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From the netherworld where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest.
He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire!’
Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.’
The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live. Let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’ But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Today’s Reflection:
Richness and pride sometimes harden the heart. In today’s reading, the rich man who enjoyed sumptuous meals every day did not give food to the hungry Lazarus, resulting in a sin of omission. It was too late for him to recognize how he was selfish during his lifetime. This serves as a reminder to us that life is meant to be shared. When life is not shared with others, it self-destructs; it dies. This season of Lent is another occasion to search, acknowledge, and love the Lazarus-es that we fail to see in our own lives. /Vulnerasti, 2023
