Fr. Rick’s Gospel Reflection for 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time  C

August 3, 2025, Luke 12:13-21

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080325.cfm

Exploring the Capabilities of a Magnifying Glass

When I was a kid, I remember seeing a magnifying glass on the kitchen counter. I was fascinated by how it made tiny things look larger. Later on, I learned that a magnifying glass could even start a fire because it concentrates the sun’s rays enough to burn things. Interestingly, the fire disappeared once I moved the magnifying glass away from the object toward myself. 

Our possessions are like a magnifying glass. When we redirect our affection and love away from God and others to ourselves, our possessions lose their ability to do greater good. Consider how God gave us our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths to love Him first. Indeed, we can’t love multiple people and create things simultaneously; we can only focus on one thing at a time: God, others, or ourselves—whichever God places in front of us at the moment. 

Dividing our hearts into different compartments—some for God, some for others, and some just for ourselves—can be risky. When our love is split, it often ends up being only for ourselves, asking, “What’s in it for me?” That’s exactly what the man in the gospel did when he had an abundance of grain. He gathered all his riches into one basket, his heart, leaving no space for anyone else. Let’s remember to keep our hearts open and balanced, sharing love generously with everyone around us, as they need.  

When we prioritize loving God, our hearts grow generous and open. His big heart is a gift that always cares for us and others, filling us with kindness and compassion. 

Mary Lynn Hendrickson was touched by a friend’s insight about feeling a sudden, almost instinctive desire to help the poor often. It’s beautiful how God’s grace touches each of us in unique ways, inspiring us to give generously.

There are many stories of future saints who find themselves with money or possessions and choose to give them away right away. This kind of generosity is beautifully captured by Saint Basil, who said, “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your closet belongs to the one who needs it.”

The Catholic Church is about to honor a new saint who exemplified this kind of generosity—Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian man who sadly passed away from polio in 1925.

When he was just a young boy, Frassati kindly gave his shoes to a barefoot child whose mother was destitute and at the door. Later, as a young man, he warmly sacrificed his overcoat, giving it away even in the freezing weather, showing his remarkable generosity.

He often had to hoof it home because he gave his train fare away, which annoyed his father. He would also swap the expensive first-class ticket his dad provided for the cheapest one and then give the leftover money away.

Large gifts of money he received went straight to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, where he ministered directly and tirelessly to poor families entrusted to his care.

Frassati’s family didn’t realize the scope of his generosity, only grasping its full extent at his funeral. Thousands of people, including many who were poor and experiencing hardship, lined the streets to pay their respects.

The sight was so moving that his parents—though on the verge of divorcing—reconciled, and his father returned to the church.¹

Let’s push the magnifying glass away from our self-centeredness and set our hearts on fire with the sacrificial love of Jesus so people will have bread in their cupboard and a coat in their closet.

St. Basil, pray with us that Jesus opens our hearts to respond generously to those He puts in our path every day.

Peace everyone.