August 3, 2025
18th Sunday
Ordinary Time
FOCUS: Do not allow earthly pursuits to delay building a life of discipleship.
Much of life is spent in toil, working to earn what we need to support ourselves and our families. Though this pursuit is necessary and good, the Lord reminds us not to fall into the trap of allowing work to become the sole foundation of our lives, particularly not to the extent that it leads us to forgo or delay building a life of discipleship.
What's in Your Heart
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Qoheleth moans that all of life's labors come to naught. What kind of reward do I expect for the work I do? When I feel my efforts are in vain, what beliefs about life shore me up?
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One of the fastest-growing industries these days is the self-storage business. People are, in essence, building bigger barns. In what ways am I storing up treasures that will not last?
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How is "putting on the new self" an antidote to both the cynicism of Qoheleth and the grasping of the farmer building bigger barns?
Homily Stories
A friend once shared a surprising revelation with me. She pointed out that the instantaneous urge to give to the poor—and then doing it, frequently—is typical of someone destined for sainthood.
Stories abound of future saints who’d come into possession of money or things and immediately give them away. It’s the radical kind of generosity described by Saint Basil: “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry; the coat in your closet belongs to the one who needs it.”
The Catholic Church will soon be canonizing a new saint who practiced this kind of generosity—a young Italian man by the name of Pier Giorgio Frassati, who died of polio in 1925.
As a young boy Frassati gave his shoes to a barefoot child whose destitute mother came to the door. As a young man he came home in frigid weather without an overcoat because he’d given it away. He often had to hoof it home because he gave his train fare away, irritating his father. He’d also trade in the expensive first-class ticket his dad gave him for the cheapest one, giving the extra funds away. Large gifts of money he received went straight to the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, where he ministered directly and tirelessly to poor families entrusted to his care.
Frassati’s family didn’t realize the scope of his generosity, only grasping its full extent at his funeral. Thousands of people, including many who were poor and experiencing hardship, lined the streets to pay their respects. The sight was so moving, that his parents—though on the verge of divorcing—reconciled and his father returned to the church.
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Quotes
God in his own generosity continues to pour out his love upon us. And as he gives us his love, he only asks us to be generous and to share what he has given us with others.
—Pope Leo XIV (recorded address delivered in Chicago; June 14, 2025)