A story was told about King Midas in Greek mythology. Midas was the king of Phrygia. Once Midas entertained the god Silenus. As a favor for that, the god Dionysus decided to grant a gift to Midas. When Dionysus asked what gift he wanted, King Midas said: That everything I touch turn to gold. The god did not hesitate and gave the king what he asked for. Midas was greedy for money, and ran and touched everything he saw, which then turned to gold. Then here comes Marigold the king’s one and only daughter. As soon as he saw her, he jumped out of joy and hugged her. At that very moment she herself turned into gold. We can only imagine the depth of the King’s heartache at that moment. The one and only daughter became a piece of gold and nothing else.

In the Bible we hear Jesus say in Luke 12:15: “Avoid greed in all its forms. A man may be wealthy, but his possessions do not guarantee him life.” At the end of the story he says, “This night if I required your soul, then it belongs to whom?” We shall try to be rich in God’s Presence and not ourselves or of the worldly things. We must know that things in the world will never last. It will perish and moths will come and destroy. Ask ourselves: Are we rich in the presence of God or in the worldly things? Especially during this time of Lent and coming closer to Easter, we shall give up all our greed for the things of this world and always try to stand in the presence of God.

How can we become rich in God’s presence? The main way is to help those who are in need of our help. It means to share generously. The Bible says that the generous will be blessed by God always, for they share their possessions with the poor and the needy. At the last judgement also, the King will tell us: “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me. Come and inherit the place which is prepared for you by my Father.” Yes, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, we shall try to be rich in the presence of the Lord always. Not in material things or the worldly things but of the things up above which are waiting for us in heaven.

God Bless you.

Fr. Charley