Today's Gospel

Advice from the Next Life

Welcome back to Radical and Relevant. Today's reading is from the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31. There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus full of sores who decide to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus in his bosom. And he called out, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I'm in anguish in this flame." But Abraham said, "Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus, in like manner, evil things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us." And he said, "Then I beg you, Father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment." But Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them." And he said, "No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent." He said to them, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead." What jumps out at you today? I think the idea that you have this-- people have different experiences in this life and the next life. And a rich man trying to reach back to his descendants and to warn them, if people could reach back from the next life and warn you, what do you think they would warn you of today? If they could reach back from the next life and counsel you, advise you, what do you think they would advise you today? If they could reach back and make you mindful of just one thing, what do you think the one thing they would reach back to make you mindful of? Or if there is one aspect of your life that they would encourage you to correct, what aspect of your life would they encourage you to correct? We hear earlier in the reading the mention of angels. It was surrounded by a vast spiritual reality, most of which we're completely oblivious to. Surrounded by angels, angels moving around us all the time, a guardian angel with you at all times, when's the last time you opened yourself to the richness of the full spiritual experience that we're immersed in? Have a great day and remember, Be Bold, Be Catholic.

When's the last time you allowed an experience to touch the very depths of your soul? That's from my new book, Slowing Down to the Speed of Joy. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, I encourage you to pick up a copy. It's about probably one of the biggest struggles in my life, and that is to escape the insanity of busyness and the insanity of the urgent in order to allow experiences to touch the very depths of our soul, we do have to slow down to the speed of joy.