Today I want to share a poem called “About the Irish”,

“What shall I say about the Irish?
The utterly impractical, never predictable
Something irascible, quite inexplicable Irish.
Strange blend of shyness, pride and conceit,
And stubborn refusal to bow in defeat.
He's spoiling and ready to argue and fight,
Yet the smile of a child fills his soul with delight.
His eyes are the quickest to well up in tears,
Yet his strength is the strongest to banish your fears.
His faith is as fierce as his devotion is grand,
And there's no middle ground on which he will stand.
He's wild and he's gentle.
He's good and he's bad.
He's proud and he's humble.
He's happy and he's sad.
He's in love with the ocean, the earth and the skies.
He's enamored with beauty wherever it lies.
He's victor and victim, a star and a clod,
But mostly he's Irish in love with his God.”

Jesus asks us to think about where our treasurer is?  Is it in things or in God?  St. Francis deSales wrote the Introduction to the Devout Life, “There is a difference between possessing poison and being poisoned.  Pharmacists keep almost every kind of poison in stock …, yet they are not themselves poisoned because it is merely in their shop, not in their bodies.  So, too, you can possess riches without being poisoned by them if you keep them in your home, purse or wallet, but not in your heart.”  (Part III, Chap. III)

Wealth, riches, possessions can lead us away from a God-centered life, not because they are bad in themselves BUT they fool us into thinking the wealth we have is ours.  Our wealth is a gift from God, what we do with our wealth is our gift to God!

In the book of Ecclesiastes we read, “All things are vanity.”  The author is writing about the purpose of human life – enduring happiness is only found in God.  St. Paul urges us to set our goals on the things “above the earth.”

Jesus teaches us to “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  The quality of our lives will ultimately be measured in how we reflect God’s love, mercy and compassion to the world; on how we reflect God to God’s people.

How well are we passing on the Gospel values, to our families, friends and others?  The real purpose of life is to find out what God wants us to do and then to do it to the best of our ability! 

“Possessions create an illusion that we have control over our destiny ….  The secret of life is finding out what God wants us to do and then enjoy doing it.”  (Connections, Aug. 2007)

Decided today to live your life for Jesus, after all He lived His life for you.

May God Be Praised!