Reflection for November 7, Saturday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time: Luke 16:9-15

Gospel: Luke 16:9-15

Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 

If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” 

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”

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Reflection:

The story is told about a young  man that said: “I will work hard to become rich.  So that when I grow old and retire I will have all the material wealth that I need to sustain myself. Hence he worked really hard not minding if he engaged in corruption and stepped on the toes of others just to be rich. A few days after retiring he died and was immediately plucked by the devil for he was possessed by his greed for dishonest wealth when he was still alive. 

What is dishonest wealth? Dishonest wealth are the following: money, possessions, fame, power or anything that enslaves us in this world.  These dishonest wealth create a false sense of security for us. 

We cling to this dishonest wealth with the thought in mind that this would complete us and make us happy.  Only to discover that it can never complete or make us happy. In fact the more that we chase dishonest wealth the more that our lives become empty and barren. 

What then is honest wealth or true wealth? True wealth is Jesus Himself! If we have Him  in our lives we already possess the greatest wealth. Wealth than can give us peace of mind while we are still in this world. Wealth that we can also have beyond this world and wealth that is our passage to heaven. 

Do you already possess in your heart the greatest wealth? – Marino J. Dasmarinas