MARY, OUR MOTHER

SCRIPTURE COMMENTARY #369

"Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, faring sumptuously every day: and a certain beggar named Lazarus was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table; yea, even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and that he was carried away by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things: but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they which would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from thence to us.' And he said, 'I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house; for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.' But Abraham saith, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.' And he said, 'Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.' And he said unto him, 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.' " (Luke 16:19-31)

WHY DIVES WAS ETERNALLY PUNISHED: We are not told that he committed any sins which the world would consider to be great ones. On the contrary, he was esteemed as an honorable and generous man. He might quite truly have said to himself: "I have deceived no man, I have never taken any one's life, nor have I sworn falsely. I am no miser; for I circulate my money freely, enjoy the use of it, and am praised by all my friends for my liberality." True! and yet he was damned! Why? Because he was a sensual man, an epicurean, and religion was a matter of no consideration with him. His only thought was how to lead a pleasant life, and he neither troubled himself about the future, nor believed in a coming Redeemer. He led a life without prayer, without fear of hell or desire of heaven, a life without grace and without God. Could such a life as this be rewarded by the everlasting Vision of God? No; its obvious and inevitable sequel could only be found in hell, or in eternal separation from God! He lived his life away from God. He sinned, firstly, by unbelief. Neither he nor his brothers believed much, if at all, in the immortality of the soul, or in what God had revealed to man by Moses and the prophets, namely, the necessity of penance and of hope in the promised Redeemer. He sinned, secondly, by immoderate pride. It was not avarice which made him refuse his help to poor Lazarus, whom he passed every day of his life, but pride, which made him despise the poor man and refuse to vouchsafe one glance at him. Pride made him hard-hearted and unloving, and his self-love speedily developed into selfishness. He sinned, thirdly, by intemperance (gluttony) in eating and drinking, giving splendid banquets every day, for which reason he is also known as the rich glutton.

[From 'A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture' by Bishop Knecht, D.D.]
(1899 Douay-Rheims Bible)