Watch the above video clip on Lazarus and The Rich Man.

Download The Video

The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31) is given here as a Video. Watch it.

Video Transcript : Lazarus and The Rich Man

There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham.

The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.’

But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us.’

Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won’t have to come here when they die.’

But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to.’

The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’

But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’

Reflection on Lazarus and The Rich Man parable

Basically, the story of Lazarus is about compassion, or more exactly about the lack of it.

Here Jesus invents a “teaching story” or parable in which He stages a rich man who has no compassion for a poor man living beside Him. After his death, the rich man is condemned for his hardness of heart. This is the main thrust of the story. The fact that it deals with financial wealth is rather secondary, and we must take note of this very carefully. If we don’t, we will think that this teaching of Jesus is only for the financially wealthy.

But, in truth, financial wealth is only a stage prop in the story. For lack of compassion can characterize any of us in the various aspects of our social lives. I can lack compassion towards those who are less “fortunate” than I am in terms of family life, brains, health, good looks, education, or friends.

How do I treat the Lazaruses I meet every day in my own life? Please think.

But this parable contains another important teaching. It corrects the mistaken way in which the rich man understands the mechanism of conversion. Because the rich man is like a lot of people who seek religious sensationalism. They are always looking for miracles, private revelations, strange phenomena.

But Jesus warns us against this kind of attitude. We have in the Bible and in the teaching of the Church everything we need for our Christian life and our salvation. Waiting for anything more amounts to refusing the grace of God.

As we all know Holy Father Benedict XVI proclaimed “The year of the Priest” on the fest day of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, 2009 to mark the 150th death anniversary of St. John Vianney. He has exhorted us to reflect deeply on our life and ministry as priests and has encouraged us to strive for greater spiritual perfection.

We can see the exhortation of the Holy Father as a divine intervention, because it is something that is very much needed in the present milieu of globalization and worldliness in which we live. After the second Vatican Council there was an identity crisis especially among priests and religious leaders. We have to accept the undeniable fact that the priesthood today is facing a serious crisis. This is seen clearly in the lack of appreciation and interest for the priesthood and the declining number of vocations, an increase in number of those leaving priesthood and the scandalous lives of priest who have gone astray.

It is an opportune time to recall our initial commitment and fervor when we are ordained, and a time to look deeply into our own innermost personal lives and to see the wonders God has done in calling us to priesthood and in our priestly ministry and to approach the merciful Father in true repentance for all the failures in living our priesthood in fidelity to Christ our High priest.

It is a time for us to remember that “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who is in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us approach the throne of grace… so that we may receive mercy and grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-26). Like St. Paul, we need to acclaim, “His grace is sufficient for me. For when I am weak I am strong and I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.”

We have St. John Mary Vianney, an outstanding model of priestly life and ministry. His exemplary life can inspire and help us to overcome all the challenges that we are facing today and help us to achieve greater spiritual perfection and live our priestly call in all fidelity to the Lord. His priestly life is an answer to what we need today. It is really fitting that the 150th year of his death is dedicated to this wonder model of priestly virtues.

We thank God for giving us this holy pastor for our imitation and sanctification. The simple and humble priest of Ars John Mary Vianney responded to the special call to be a priest of the Church, to be a shepherd like Jesus to his people. He always remains a shining example to all priests and the people of God.

Personal Holiness

First of all his personal holiness was manifested in his day-today life. He was a man of prayer. He spent hours before the Blessed Sacrament. St Paul, call to holiness was really personalized in his life. “You are children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you must shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (2 Phil 2:15-16). St. John Vianney became a beacon of light holding on to the Word of God among the people of Ars who were crooked and perverse.

Every Eucharist that we offer, every sacrament we administer and every act of our priestly ministry should draw us to greater holiness. A priest cannot be successful in the work of sanctifying others, unless he aims at his own personal holiness through prayer. Prayer is the nourishment to our souls.

St. Augustine says; “without food the body cannot nourish itself, and without prayer the soul cannot keep itself alive.” For the priest, prayer is the main spring of life and activity.

Priest : A Good Shepherd

St. John Vianney was living a true shepherd life of his Savior and master Jesus Christ. The Word of God became flesh in his life and activity. The shepherd as Gospel tells, must have a deep love for the sheep, know them intimately, lead them towards good pastures, defend them against ravenous wolves or roaring lions and go out to reach for those who stray away for the hold. He formed himself to become like the Good Shepherd.

He was a model of pastoral dedication and commitment. He utilized his energy, talent, patience and all his love for the people who have gone astray lacking Christian faith and morals which was a consequence of the French Revolution. He did all he could in order to help his parishioners. He saw the Lord in his parishioners. He says, “a good pastor, a pastor according to the heart of God is the greatest treasure that the Lord could grant the parish, and one of the most precious gifts of his divine mercy.”

Priest : A Martyr at the Confessional

He spent many hours per day in the confessional in order to reconcile men with God and with one another. “The Cure de Ars is a true martyr of the confessional” (John Paul II). He sought in every way, to help his people rediscover the significance and the beauty of the sacrament of confession.

My dear priests, the year of priest is an occasion to make an introspection into our life as priests. Let us ask ourselves, “Am I really faithful to my call to priestly life? Is my life and example worthy enough to draw people to the Lord? Jesus brought back crowds to the joy of salvation, Do I?”

Let us ask the good Lord to assist and inspire all of us priests to live a good and holy life after the example of St. John Mary Vianney. Let us make use of this God-given opportunity to renew our life and make our ministry happy and fruitful to the people of God.

- – - written by Mar Gregory Karotemprel CMI, Bishop of Rajkot

Friends, I stumbled across a website named LordMovie.com

Its all connected with the Holy Land. Lets hear what its owner Nicola has to say.

About LordMovie website:

My name is Nicola, as a Christian born in the Holy Land, I have been blessed with the joy of discovering Israel religiously. In turn, I’m even more delighted to be able to share my discoveries with others just like you.

The domain Lord Movie was inspired by its proximity to historical places of worship which I frequent on a regular basis.

I have created this website with the intent to showcase religious sites in the Holy Land and to exhibit religious articles made in the Holy Land by its Christian inhabitants.

You will see a magnificent collection of olivewood rosaries, olivewood crosses, olivewood statues, silver art, and jewelry all from Jerusalem. A list of hotels, restaurants and their availability is also given here, to assist you if you are planning to visit the Holy Land.

If you are interested in acquiring any of the items for yourself, or your loved ones, please contact me at: nicol_kanaan@hotmail.com. For each purchase you make, 10% will be donated to churches across the Holy Land to assist in community work, and to assist fellow Christians in need of hope and a better future.

Visit the website:

The URL of the website :  www.lordmovie.com

Its a very good website with many Christian stuff to buy like Holy Land Rosary, Jerusalem Scented Rosary, Olive Seeds Rosary. A real helpful guide if you are planing a pilgrimage to Holy Land. The site has other useful spiritual articles too. Check them out now.