REVISED 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022

Fr. Rick’s Two Minute Homily for 18th Sunday in Week in Ordinary Time 07-31-2022
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022
Luke 12:13-21 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073122.cfm

DISCOVERING THE POWER OF A MAGNIFYING GLASS.

I spotted a magnifying glass on the kitchen counter as a kid, and I noticed how it made small things bigger. To my surprise, I later discovered that a magnifying glass could make fire.

The sun’s beam could be intensified to the degree that it could burn whatever it touched. However, it lost its fire when I pulled the magnifying glass from the object toward me.

Our possessions are like a magnifying glass. When we pull our affection and love away from others to ourselves, our possessions lose their power to do a greater good.

Think about how God gave us our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths to love him first. Indeed we can’t love a variety of persons and created things at once, but we can only focus on one thing, God, others, or ourselves.

It can be dangerous to divide our hearts into compartments, some for God, some for others, and some for ourselves. When our love is divided, we love no one but ourselves. We ask, “What’s in it for me.?”

That is exactly what the man in the gospel did when he had too much grain. He put all his goods in one basket, his heart. There wasn’t any room left for anyone else.

However, loving God first makes our hearts so big that there is plenty of room to do good for others. Why? Because God gives us His big heart that will always provide for ourselves and others.

Loving God first is like the magnifying glass that gathers all the sun’s rays into one beam. So, all our love for people and things is magnified into a powerful beam that increases our intensity to do good. This gospel came to life here at Blessed Sacrament Church the last couple of weeks.

We had a backpack drive and did you ever come through.

Do you know that today 181 children have a backpack with all the school supplies they need to begin the school year. We had trays of pencils and pens, scissors and glue. It was amazing how your love for Jesus in those kids multiplied what no one of us could do if we kept those supplies to ourselves. Their smiles and thank said it all. I thank God for you and to be a part of this parish.

Keep your magnifying glass handy and set God’s goodness ablaze everywhere you go.

IGNITE THE FIRE!

Father Rick Pilger, I.C.
pastor

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