September 7.  Dad spoke seriously to them all. “I’m sure you’ve seen all kinds of houses, huts and farms already.  We’ve never been rich but like most people we know I would consider us middle class.  We do have enough to live off, if we don’t waste money or spend extravagantly.  The fact that we do share our resources with others as Pope Francis asks is important for me. Oh, and by the way no new cellphones for you kids this year.”  It was quite hard for the younger ones to understand why Pope Francis so often condemns the rich.  Dad explained that in the gospel of today Jesus did the same.  “It is not that being rich is so wrong but that in one way it takes something way from the poor, especially if the rich do not share their wealth. We should all share more equally.” 

Scripture:    Woe to you that are rich for you have receive your consolation. Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. From Luke 6:20-26.  Pope Francis: We have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. LS 49. A constant flood of new consumer goods can baffle the heart and prevent us from cherishing each thing and each moment.  To be serenely present to each reality, however small it may be, opens us to much greater horizons of understanding and personal fulfilment. Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little.  LS 222

ECO-TIP AND PRAYER: Discuss, how good are we at budgeting and money management?  Each person can have their own values on the subject.   Pray, Glory be to the Father……………………