gravely sinful and could potentially forfeit our eternal salvation.

The prophet Amos cried, “They drink wine from bowls and anoint themselves with the best oils; yet, they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!”

One of the most obvious signs of spiritual infirmity is the inability to be sickened by the exploitation of the weak, scandalized by the abuse of power, depressed by the amount of world hunger, or outraged by the hypocrisy of society’s leaders who fail to serve those entrusted to them.

The rich man chose to embrace a convenient lie: I have no obligation to feed this hungry man; he has no claim on my riches. As disciples of Jesus Christ and members of his body, we don’t have the luxury of self deception.

The rich man was in a position to offer aid and assistance to (i.e., fight for) someone in need but refused. The price for this refusal was a poor man’s physical death—and the rich man’s eternal salvation. You cannot advance in holiness and neglect the needy at the same time.

You can go to church, pray, teach religion, preach a sermon, and offer a Novena, but if you are indifferent to the needs of the poor, deaf to the cries of the most vulnerable in society, and negligent when it comes to sharing the riches of the Gospel with others, the gates that await you after death aren’t likely to be the pearly ones!