I can’t remember when storage locker facilities became part of every city and town. I do remember when I was a new young nun that we had to be able to put everything we owned into one train trunk — and it was doable! Vanity of vanities. All things are vanity, warns this Sunday’s Hebrew Scripture reading from Ecclesiastes, part of “wisdom literature.” That reading is paired with the Gospel where Jesus says, echoing that wisdom theme: Though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions … Then he tells a little story about an acquisitive man who builds a bigger storehouse and unexpectedly dies, rich in things but not rich in what matters to God. A strength of wisdom literature is its realism; death is always in the picture, giving the perspective that wisdom literature needs as it probes, “What’s life about anyway?” So, what do we want to be rich in, if not stuff? Relationship with God; appreciation of nature; health; family; leisure; neighbors; gifts and talents; generosity and compassion; freedom; enjoyment of beauty, art, music, literature; integrity; friends; good memories; peace … Can you add to the list of things you want to be rich in? Who really needs those storage lockers anyway?
– Blog entry by Sister Mary Garascia