The Impossible Dream

The Scripture readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time can be found at http://usccb.org/bible/readings/073116.cfm

What is the most important thing in your life? Is it Christ that is the center of all you do? Or is it the things that St. Paul speaks of in his letter to the Colossians: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry? (Colossians 3:5) Paul calls us to put these things to death, and to turn our lives over to God, we are to put on a "new self." Put on Christ who is all and in all.

We learn from Jesus in the parable about the rich fool who has made his possessions more important than his relationship with God. This is not what God expects of us! The rich man thinks he'll have an easy life with no cares and worries now that he has an abundant crop. He fails to realize that God is the center of all who we are. We are not to store up treasure here on earth without realizing that our true home will be in heaven. Yes, belongings and blessings here in this life are nice to have, but only in the sense that we use them in service of others and in deepening our relationship with God. Belongings are not the end all of our lives.

The readings for today's Holy Mass reminds me of the 1960's play "Man of La Mancha" which is based on the novel by Cervantes, "Don Quixote". The main character, Don Quixote is out to make the world a better place and is considered crazy by all who surround him, both family, and those he encounters during his quest to make the world a better place. Dulcinea, the prostitute that Don Quixote falls in love with, much to her dismay, asks, "Why do you do the things you do?" He responds with the classic song, "The Impossible Dream". Some of the phrases that Don Quixote sings in response to Dulcinea's question is, "to right the unrightable wrong. To love pure and chaste from afar," "To fight for the right. Without question or pause. To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause."

This is what St. Paul is calling us to do in his writing the Colossians by inviting us to put on a "new self", that of service to others and love of Christ. By doing these things for others, in the name of Christ, we will be storing up treasure in heaven.

How do we set our sights on the things of God and the treasures of heaven? We do it when we come to Mass on the weekend rather than skip Mass in order to sleep in late on a Sunday. We do it when we take the time  from a busy day to be with the Lord in prayer and discern His will for our life, with the Sacrament of Penance where we repent the wrong we've done and renew what is good in our life.  We do it when we receive Holy Communion to strengthen our relationship with Jesus Christ as the most enduring thing we can have in this world. We do it when we use money and resources  we have to advance the Kingdom of God, to help others along the way.

Build up your spiritual assets in your life. This way, when we meet the Lord, we leave behind everything we have and take with us everything we are and have become.

What are the spiritual assets, the spiritual wealth, we are acquiring to bring before the Lord? If, as the man in Jesus' parable, an accounting were required tonight, what would we bring to the Lord?