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In this Sunday’s homily, Father Randy reflects on Jesus’ repeated warnings about wealth and the dangers of complacency. True discipleship, he reminds us, calls for compassion — the willingness to suffer with others and let our hearts be moved by their needs. Through God’s grace, we can cultivate a heart like Christ’s: one that sees, loves, and acts on behalf of our neighbor.
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Father Randy: And so we may at times justifiably wonder and ask, why is Jesus spending so much time focused on warning the rich? Why does he keep coming back to this point over and over again? Why are there so many caution signs around wealth? Simple answer is that we need to hear it. We need to hear it often. And so it helps us to live with greater intentionality. And so for those who have much, who are rich in this life, the answer is not to just get rid of it all, just to give it all away. Okay.
Father Randy: But for most of us, the answer is that we need to heed the caution signs. We need to follow the limits of the direction the Lord has given us. And so what he’s leading us to today is this expansion of heart. The readings make it clear. The common pitfall that the rich are falling into is a social complacency. It’s that self-absorption that lets you just pass over the suffering of your neighbor and being unwilling to be moved by them.
Father Randy: And so there’s a remedy that scripture proposes to this, not just a warning, but what should we do? And it’s a practice that all of us, and especially those who have much, can take on to guard against these pitfalls. That practice is compassion. Compassion sees the other person they’re suffering. It suffers with them. Compassion is really the willingness to see and to love your neighbor so much that their pain becomes your pain, right?
Father Randy: It’s not limited by personal judgments or rationalizations. This is the way that God loves us. He lets himself be moved by us. And it’s how we are also called to love. It’s an impossible task apart from God. On our own, we become jaded. We start closing off, just numbing ourselves to the suffering of those around us. So it’s only through grace, it’s only through this constant contact with the Lord that our hearts can remain soft, that we can remain open to love like his.
Father Randy: We really have to learn from him how to love those around us how to have compassion and it’s not something that we’re probably going to ever do perfectly here on our but we can grow in it we can practice loving well and compassionately those around us you know you may think of there’s going to be times at mass when you share your intention with your neighbor your neighbor shares theirs and they’re going to share something heavy that’s an opportunity to put into practice to suffer with them, to pray well for them, to really offer that with Jesus, who’s also suffering in them. If we want to be sure that we’re heeding the caution signs that Jesus is giving us today, we really have to be willing to start letting our hearts be moved, be broken, by what moves and breaks his heart. Because he’s the standard by which we can judge our love and our compassion. Him alone. We imitate him. We become like him.
Father Randy: And so let’s start that today, praying, asking the Lord to give us that heart, to give us his vision. Truly love those around us, to see them with compassion that leads us to act on their behalf.