Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Aug 3, 2025    Fr. Ryan Kaup

The Church calls us to reflect on gospel poverty—a theme we see throughout Scripture, especially in the life of Jesus. This isn’t just a spiritual concept; it involves real, material choices. Gospel poverty looks different for each person, but we are all called to live with a proper disposition toward the world: to see created things as means, not ends. The only true end is God.


When we seek comfort, possessions, or status as ends in themselves, we become spiritually blind. We lose our taste for prayer, our hearts become divided, and our neighbor suffers when we withhold generosity. But when we live simply and freely, we open ourselves to the joy of an undivided heart and deeper intimacy with God.


Ask the Lord: What material things in my life do I not need? What is He inviting you to let go of, so you can cling more fully to Him?