First Reading • Amos 6:1a, 4-7
Psalm • Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-10
Second Reading • 1 Timothy 6:11-16
Gospel • Luke 16:19-31
On May 13, 1917, Our Lady appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. She urged them to repent and pray for sinners.
To show them how serious this was, on July 13 she gave them a vision of Hell; souls falling like sparks into fire, demons tormenting them, and cries of despair.
The children were terrified, but Our Lady assured them they would go to Heaven if they remained faithful. From then on, little Jacinta and the others prayed the Rosary daily and offered sacrifices.
“This little prayer chain is stronger than all the chains of sin.” This little chain of beads, prayed faithfully, became the greatest weapon the children of Fatima used for the salvation of souls.
They even give away their food to the poor, so that sinners might repent and be saved.
Though more than a century has passed, the Fatima message is still for us. Hell is real. Those who die unrepentant go there like the rich man in Jesus’ parable. God, of course, desires no one’s damnation.
Saint Paul reminds us that He “desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3-4).
Yet God respects our freedom. Every sin, no matter how small it seems, is a refusal of His love.
Sin hardens the heart until love becomes impossible and without love, Heaven is closed to us.
We are tempted to excuse ourselves: “I’ve never killed anyone, so I must be fine.” But the Gospel shows us otherwise.
The rich man probably kept the law, worshipped in the Temple, and perhaps even avoided adultery.
His downfall was not murder but indifference.
At his very doorstep lay Lazarus, hungry and covered with sores. He could have spared him scraps, but he refused.
His refusal to love the poor man was a refusal to love God Himself.
And so, it is with us: even if we have not committed great crimes or mortal sins, when we ignore the needs of our brothers and sisters, when we fail to console someone in suffering, when we do not support those who are lonely, or when we neglect to lift up the spirits of others, we fall into the very same kind of sin the rich man committed in today’s Gospel.
That is why today’s readings must wake us up. Do we live so comfortably that we do not notice the suffering around us?
Do we pass the poor by, preoccupied with our own wants? If so, like the people condemned by the prophet Amos, we too are “lying on couches” on the road to destruction.
The shepherd children of Fatima show us a different path. They sacrificed for the conversion of sinners.
We too must pray, sacrifice, and perform works of mercy. We can offer a Rosary instead of more screen time. We can fast a meal to remember those who starve daily. Above all, we must never treat the poor as invisible.
A simple greeting, a kind word, or an act of dignity may be worth more than any coin. We should not shut our doors to any one in need.
Hell is real, but fear is not the end of the story. When Jacinta saw Hell, her heart grew in love.
That is what God wants for us; that our awareness of Hell would lead us to greater compassion, greater sacrifice, greater love. For in the end, only love lasts.
And it is love; poured out in prayer, in sacrifice, in mercy; that assures us a place in Heaven and makes life bearable for those who suffer here and now.
And so, with confidence, let us follow the call of Our Lady of Fatima: to pray, to sacrifice, and to love.
If we do this, we will not only help many souls find their way to God, but we ourselves will one day share in the eternal joy of Heaven, where Christ and His Blessed Mother await us.And as Saint Paul urges us in today’s second reading, let us “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness… fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of eternal life.” (1 Tim 6:11–12). This is our mission until the day Christ, the King of kings, comes again in glory. “This light reminds us that Christ is our eternal hope. As Saint Paul tells us, we must fight the good fight and hold on to this light until the day He comes again in glory.”
