Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Luke 16: 19-31
September 28, 2025 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

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.’

Today’s Reflection

Don’t wait before it’s too late. This is a stark reminder that the Gospel is sending us. Many of us dismiss the message of Jesus, wanting to focus first on our wants and comforts. It’s as if we are telling the Lord, “Wait there, I will focus on you once I have satisfied my cravings in this world.” Or, we just say, “I’ll change tomorrow.” But will there be a tomorrow for us? The comforts of the world often blind us from the needs of our souls. Pope Benedict XVI once remarked, “The world will offer your comfort, but you are not made for comfort; you are made for greatness.” What is that greatness? Greatness in God. We are called to be close to God, to grow in intimacy towards him. In confession, we have something called perfect contrition and imperfect contrition. The latter is the fear of damnation, while the former, which we should grow into, is the love for God. May we all aspire for heaven not because we fear hell but rather because we do not want to be separated eternally from the Lord. May we start to listen now to the Lord’s call and abide by His will so we may be welcomed into His home in heaven.

/Vulnerasti, 2025