In Luke 12:13–21, Jesus tells the parable of the rich fool who stores up goods for himself, planning to rest, eat, drink, and enjoy his wealth—only to discover that his life is demanded of him that very night. Christ ends with a sharp contrast: “So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”

At the heart of this parable lies a deep spiritual truth: that the human soul was not created for accumulation but for communion.

The Carmelite Way: Detachment for Union

The saints of Carmel—Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Thérèse of Lisieux—consistently remind us that spiritual maturity begins with detachment. St. John of the Cross teaches that “the soul that is attached to anything, however much good there may be in it, will not arrive at the liberty of divine union.” The rich man in the parable clings to his material security, not recognizing that true security lies in surrender.

For the Carmelite, to be rich toward God means to empty oneself of all that is not God, so that the soul becomes receptive to the Divine Presence dwelling within. Possessions are not evil in themselves, but when they become the measure of our worth or the object of our hope, they enclose the soul in a prison of illusion.

Francisco Palau y Quer: The Church is Christ and Souls

Blessed Francisco Palau, a Carmelite deeply devoted to both the solitary and apostolic dimensions of the spiritual life, teaches that true richness is found in loving the Church, which he saw not only as an institution but as a mystical reality: Christ in union with the soul and the community of believers.

Palau’s vision reminds us that our treasures are not barns filled with grain, but relationships rooted in divine love. The rich man fails not just because he gathers wealth, but because he is alone—he speaks only to himself, plans only for himself. In contrast, the spiritual person lives in communion: with God, with others, with the mystical body that is the Church.

For Palau, love is not abstract sentiment but real, lived connection with God and neighbor. He writes: “My mission is to proclaim the truth about the Church, loved and persecuted, visible and invisible, Christ and you, O soul!”

A Call to Contemplative Poverty

This Gospel invites us into a contemplative poverty, a freedom from all that keeps us from loving God with our whole heart. To live “rich toward God” is to prioritize silence, prayer, simplicity, and love—allowing God to be our true treasure.

So let us ask: What barns am I building? What possessions—material or emotional—am I hoarding to feel secure? What relationships am I neglecting while I focus on storing up for myself?

Following the saints of Carmel and Blessed Francisco Palau, we are called to live not for ourselves but in union with the Beloved, the Church, and the whole Body of Christ. Let us place our treasures where rust and moth do not consume—in the heart of God.