Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop, Martyr
Gospel – Luke 12:13-21
“Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?”. This is what makes man and women unhappy. This finite happiness with which we fill our heart is that makes our heart sad. The finiteness of those things which we hold close to our heart, even though we have it in abundance, our heart recognizes its transitory nature. This recognition produces melancholy. Because our heart is the seat of eternal things. Only the love of God can fill our heart. Nothing else. Therefore, if we try to content our heart with our earthly possessions, it only produces unhappiness. May be our ego will be happy with those possessions, but our heart will not be. The word of God asks us to recognize this conflict. Our ego asks us to build bigger barns to store the grains and goods we have, or we make, and our heart looks for the love of God. Therefore, the Gospel puts before us the question: Are you listening to your ego which asks you to look for more possessions or to your heart which looks for the love of God?