The Gospel reading at Mass came from Luke 16, which tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man died and landed in the netherworld, while Lazarus the poor man died and was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. I see quite a bit of the rich man in most of us. For example, he dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day ~ we might have enjoyed dressing and eating well at one time or another. After the rich man learned that there was a chasm permanently separating his side and Lazarus', he begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers at his father's house, lest they too end up in his place of torment. So there was kindness in him, as in most of us. Of course, his request was denied because Abraham told him that they already have Moses and the prophets to listen to. Well, we have Jesus, the Son of God, to listen to ~ but are we listening? We can be pretty nice people, but without love and paying God attention, we also risk landing in the netherworld.
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