Hi everyone, My name is Adam. I am a seminarian from Rhode Island in my 2nd year of configuration (Theology). My favorite Bible verse is John 11:35 “and Jesus wept.”

Woe to the Complacent.” After this admonition it goes to describe what complacency looks like. They drink lavishly, they stretch comfortably on their couches, they eat lambs, and improvise music…they are enjoying the good life, and in the good life, they have found their comfort. They grow complacent in their comfort. To them, God offers this warning, “Woe.” What is the object of a good life? That’s the question at the heart of today’s readings… What is the aim of a good life? For the complacent — it is time. The wealthy want more of it, they want to savor it, they want to prolong it as much as they can. They want the pleasures of life to last. They want to throw luxurious parties, and spend their waking days basking in their own comfort and glory. But, when the day comes to an end, when their time has come, they will have already received their reward. The Gospel offers a similar warning: Jesus offers the parable of the rich man who enjoys the fruits of a good life while the beggar, Lazarus, suffers outside. The rich man was dressed in fine linen, dined sumptuously, enjoyed the comfortable life, while poor Lazarus starved with dogs licking his sores. At the end, they end up in opposite circumstances and we can hear underneath a similar warning: “Woe to the complacent in Zion.” One of the lessons offered today is to remember that life has an aim: an aim to live well in love. Victor Frankl said it best when he wrote, “The salvation of man is through love and in love.” In other words, we were not made by God to simply enjoy our own independence free from worries. We were made for communion, we were made for love. Frankl’s point was simple: contemplation of our beloved can be the sweet refuge we find even in the worst misery, and if love is our refuge in misery, then salvation comes from love, in love. Love moves the heart beyond its own circumstances into a shared life. We were made in God’s image, to love, and it is through love that we, men and women broken by sin, are saved. As we come closer to our Savior in love, we also see that God inspires us to love: “Love one another, as I have loved you”, Jesus commands.

Grateful for the invite from Fr. Fleming! I'm the rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Utah. My favorite scripture verse, since childhood, has always been Malachi 1,11: "From the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation."

I wrote an introduction to Spiritual warfare. And yes… it’s $8 because I spent money to make sure that it was professionally edited, formatted, and ready to help you grow in the spiritual life. If this goes well, then more will be on the way! Check it out.

Thank you for joining our SKOOL community! SKOOL has proven to be a really helpful tool to share the gospel online with a dedicated community. This page allows us to: 1) post videos and content for little cost 2) share our calendar and updates 3) keep valuable resources online for anyone in the community to revisit at any time 4) allow our community to connect to each other. This has been a great experience for the few of us who have been using it regularly. Now, I ask that you help me to share it! I’m asking for your help to spread the word and help us change someone’s life by helping them encounter the gospel. If you have seen 1 post, 1 video, 1 homily that made you think, “I know someone who needs to hear that” then I ask you to share! Here is the Link https://www.skool.com/ephesians6ministry Thank you! Let’s help our neighbor come to know more about the life of grace through a community that will help and support them! Fr Fleming.