In today's Gospel reading, the Lord exhorts his disciples to turn away from greed. St. Thomas Aquinas defined greed as "the unreasonable or immoderate desire for riches." Desiring money is not bad. Money is a necessity to obtain goods and services for our lives and for the lives of those in our care. This desire becomes a problem, a sin in religious terms, when it becomes an exhausting search for wealth.

In the parable the Lord gives us today of the foolish rich man, he warns us about the dangers of greed. This story shows us that when we become consumed by the desire for wealth, we risk pushing God out of our lives entirely, forgetting to include Him in our life plans.

The foolish rich man speaks only to himself, a stark contrast to the psalmist who prayed to God, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart." In his monologue, the foolish rich man thinks about three things: the amount of his accumulated goods, the number of years those goods seem to guarantee him, and the amount of tranquility and unrestrained enjoyment those goods will provide him. However, the rich man’s plans are completely contradictory to God’s, as he had only accumulated material possessions and lacked any heavenly riches.

The amount of time left for this man is nullified, and without it, a life of enjoyment also disappears. What immediately befalls him is his judgment. All the possessions he obtained, the very things he built his life around, cannot go with him. They'll stay behind in this world for others who didn’t work for them to enjoy.

The Old Testament reading paired with this Gospel reading today is from the Book of Ecclesiastes. The wise author says, “All things are vanity! Here is one who has labored with wisdom and knowledge and skill, and yet to another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity and a great misfortune.” The wise author reflects on how human life, without hope for anything beyond this world, is ultimately empty and futile.

In the parable, God calls this person a fool. He is a fool because he based his life on things he believed were concrete, but which were only a fantasy. This is the great teaching of the parable. The person who lives his life not taking God into account, lives in a fantasy that will ultimately be just another vanity, as the Book of Ecclesiastes says.

It would be beneficial for us to often reflect on this parable. What are our plans for life? Do our own plans align with God's Word? Are we feeling so comfortable with what we possess that we do not take God into account for our life plans? It would be very interesting to know God's opinion about our plans. God's opinion is written in His Word.

If we listen to the Word of God, if we reflect on it, we will be able to know God's opinion about our plans. It is very good when the Word of God confirms our plans. However, when we make plans based only on our selfishness, the Word of God nullifies them. That is why we first need to know God's vision for the lives of his children. Our plans must be made according to God's vision, and we find that in the Word of God.

What a beautiful prayer the psalmist teaches us today: "Lord, teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart." Let us humbly ask the Lord to grant us this very grace.