“The Gospel today tells us a very striking story—the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. It is not really about money. It is about how we see people, how we treat them, and how we respond to God’s word.
Let me share three simple lessons from this Gospel.
Do not become blind to the suffering around us.
The rich man in the Gospel did not harm Lazarus. He did not insult him. His sin was simpler—and more dangerous: he ignored him.
Every day he walked past Lazarus lying at his gate, hungry and covered with sores, but he chose not to see him.
Sometimes we are like that. The poor are around us—the hungry family, the struggling worker, the sick neighbor, the child who cannot go to school. Yet it is easy to pass by and say, “That is not my problem.”
But the Gospel reminds us: when we ignore the suffering of others, we also ignore God.
As Proverbs 19:17 says: “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord.”
What we have is a responsibility, not just a privilege.
The rich man was not condemned because he was rich. He was condemned because he used his blessings only for himself.
In our time, many of us are blessed—with education, opportunities, stable work, influence, or resources. These are good gifts. But God gives them to us not only for our comfort, but also for service.
Pope Francis often reminds us: “The poor are not a problem to be solved but brothers and sisters to be loved.”
If we have more, it simply means we are called to give more.
The time to change is now.
In the story, the rich man asks Abraham to send someone back from the dead to warn his brothers. But Abraham says something very important: “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.”
In other words: God has already spoken. We already know what is right.
We do not need miracles or extraordinary signs. Every Sunday, every Mass, every Gospel reading is already God calling us to conversion.
The question is not: “Does God speak?” The question is: “Are we listening?”
The story of Lazarus reminds us of a simple truth: The measure of our life will not be how much we owned, but how much we loved.
When we open our eyes to the poor, when we share our blessings, when we respond to God’s word today—then we build a bridge between heaven and earth.
And when our time comes to stand before the Lord, we will hear the words we all hope for: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”(Matthew 25:40).”