October 17

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." He replied to him, "Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?" Then he said to the crowd, "Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one's life does not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable. "There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest. He asked himself, 'What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?' And he said, 'This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones. There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!" But God said to him, 'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?' Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God" (Luke 12: 13-21).

This is the weakness of greed, where we center our focus on material things and put God in second or third place. This is very foolish. If you knew you only had one more year to live, what would you like to accomplish for God?

Jesus, I want to give You more importance in my life and give less to material things. 

Impact Sports: When I am hurt or sore do I offer up that pain to God for the good of my teammates or others?

Impact Life: Am I too concerned about what others think of me? Do I care more about what God thinks of me?