reference:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062721.cfm

I quote:

Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.

end quote

Two matters manifest their importance in today's readings, beginning with the awareness that a life filled with possessions does not deliver the contentment that we expect. The greater our wealth, the more insecure are those of us who believe that possessing more delivers greater rewards, with the ever present awareness that we could lose all that appears to add security to our well being.

Charles Dicken's character, Ebenezer Scrooge learned from his miserable life accumulating an expanding bank account that his inner demons, otherwise known as ones conscience would reveal how best to live a happy and rewarding life. Sharing his wealth with those who were in plain sight, opened up a new life for Scrooge to enjoy ensuring that his insecurities evaporated into his nightmares long past, testimony to the benefits of sharing our excess.

Percy Shelley's sonnet registers persuasively the worthlessness of monuments dedicated to the power, and wealth of those dwelling in a land where decay is the inevitable result of having believed that the megaliths of their power would survive the passage of time.

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

~ Percy Shelley

Holy Scripture registers in some depth the healing powers of Jesus of Nazareth,
revealing the presence of The Father's life, working through His Son, in whom He was well pleased.
My next offering will address this matter.


end