Today’s readings ask us to access our priorities. Are we more concerned with what we can accumulate in this life, which is temporary? Or are we more concerned with our next life, which is forever. Let that sink in for a moment…forever! The first reading reminds us that life is nothing but a drudgery if all we’re concerned about is amassing wealth (money, things) in this life. None of the things we accumulate really belong to us; they are all gifts from God that are meant to be shared in one way or another with others, and none of it is permanent. This life has no meaning unless we have a focus on the next. Paul says the same in the second reading. In the Gospel, Jesus tells the story of the “Foolish Farmer”. The farmer has a fantastic crop and doesn’t have the storage capacity for the harvest. His solution is to build larger barns to store it; all well and good, except that he’s not storing it so it can benefit others in lean years, but only so that he can “rest, eat, drink, and be merry” for many years to come. The wonderful gift that God has given him, which was meant to be shared, he wants to hoard for himself. Jesus clearly points out the error in his thinking. We’ve all heard the phrase “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Planning is a good thing, something we all need to do. However, Jesus tells us that we need to plan properly, keeping our priorities in the correct order, which the foolish farmer did not do. Again, what are our priorities? Perhaps we need to reassess them, and there’s no time like the present because tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us. Reflection by parishioner, John Ceglarek