Kohelet 1.2, 2.21-23 | Colossians 3.1-5,9-11 | Luke 12.13-21

We begin with Mother Church the eighteenth week of Ordinary Time. We are in August, the month of vocations. Let us ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into the harvest, for the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (cf. Matthew 9:37-38).

This first weekend, we pray for vocations to the ordained ministry: bishops, priests, and deacons, as the liturgical feast of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé of Ars, the patron saint of parish priests, approaches on August 4th.

Today the Evangelist Luke tells us about the parable of the rich fool who stored up treasures for himself.

Someone in the crowd asked Jesus to judge and divide an inheritance among brothers. But the Master cautioned against all forms of greed, emphasizing that a man's life did not consist in an abundance of possessions.

In this context, Jesus told the parable of the man who, instead of being rich before God, preferred to keep his harvest and possessions for himself, ignoring the imminent death that would leave everything behind.

The only wealth a man should seek is to be approved before God through a life of generosity and solidarity with those in need. Accumulating treasures for oneself is folly, due to the instability of the goods of this world and of this time.

We live in a consumerist and hoarding society that runs counter to the logic of the Gospel, which is one of sobriety and sharing. Let us use the riches of this world in such a way that we promote the glory of God and the good of our brothers and sisters, preparing ourselves to inherit Heaven.

Today, the author of the book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) speaks to us about vanity and the reward for work. 

Marked by pessimism and disillusionment with life, the book's author said that the life of an intelligent, competent, and successful worker—whose heart never rested even at night—was suffering, and that his occupation was torment. Such a worker was forced to leave everything as an inheritance to another who contributed nothing. This, too, was a great misfortune.

The Christian tradition views work positively, as a direct collaboration with divine creative action. Professional skills are gifts from God, and by exercising their gifts, workers experience great joy and satisfaction. Through work, people make the world a better place, and through their salaries, they provide for their needs to live with dignity.

Seeking prosperity through work is positive and admirable, but unbridled ambition truly takes away peace and causes illness, harming personal and family development. When it comes to the world of work and salaries, let us exchange vanity for prudence. 

Today, the Apostle Paul speaks to us in his letter to the Colossians about the resurrected life with Christ and about greed as idolatry.

The Apostle said that those who died with Christ and rose with Him should aspire to heavenly things and not to earthly things, that they should put to death what belongs to the earth in them, for they have already put off the old self and its ways (immorality, greed, lies) and have put on the new self. Paul said that social and religious distinctions were no longer made among Christians, for Christ was all in all.

Let us strive to reach the things above, where Christ is. When He appears in His triumph, then we too will appear with Him, clothed in glory.

Let us worship God alone, and not money or possessions, for greed is idolatry, exchanging the Creator for creatures.

May God bless and grant perseverance to bishops, presbyters, and deacons. May many young men hear God's call to ordained ministry and respond positively, counting on the support of our families and communities.