Jesus said to the Pharisees: "There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. (Lk 16:19-31)
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030923.cfm
The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man has been confusing for some because of the name Lazarus and because the story is actually a parable. The Lazarus of the parable is NOT the Lazarus of Bethany who is the brother of Martha and her sister Mary. During the Middle Ages, folks confused the Lazarus of the parable, who is covered with sores, as a leper, and so “Saint Lazarus” became the patron saint of lepers, leprosaria and lazarettos. In the parable the sin of the rich man is that he never even sees the beggar lying in front of his door.
These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Thursday, Week II, Lent
