Word Columns for Sunday August 5

This Sunday is the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Father Daniel Harrington writes that "the Old Testament wisdom books and the New Testament writings have some wise things to say about money and possessions. While affirming that we live in the real world of commerce, they teach us that we should not make material possessions into a god, that life is fragile and ultimately in God’s hands and that we need to sort out what is really important and lasting before it is too late." In 2004 Sister Dianne Bergant noted that, in his letter to the Colossians, " Paul directs our attention to those treasures that endure. He admonishes us to seek what is above." Finally, Father John Donahue’s reflections from 2001 ponder what the readings mean for Christians today: "Today’s readings present a special challenge to prosperous North Americans. The gap between rich and poor widens; bigger homes, bigger cars, bigger home entertainment centers are the modern equivalent of the bigger barns. How shall Christians today become "rich in what matters to God"? Tim Reidy, Online Editor